Hell Effect
by Se.Vl.An
Summary: In 2148, people found a Protean outpost on Mars that forever predetermined their development. But what if fate decided to mock humanity. What would have happened if there had been a UAC corporation in the world, and that if it had dug up not only the protean on the Red Planet ... This text is translated by author. The original fanfic is here: /readfic/5453335
1. Prologue 1

**Disklaimer: I do not own any rights of the Mass Effect, DooM or any other Universes. This text is not for commercial use. All characters appearing in this text are fictitious.**

**WARNING: This text includes strong language and ultra violence. But, anyway, what have you ever expected from Doom?!**

2040: As a part of planned development of the Solar System by uniting of the resources of Russian RosCocmos, the American NASA and the European ESA, the Union Aerospace Company (UAC) was invented. In addition of the development of the near-Earth, and subsequently the entire Solar System, the UAC is tasked with finding and developing new sources of energy to overcome the energy crisis.

2049: During the researches into the processing of the lunar soil UAC invented profitable way of extraction helium-3 on the Moon.

2050: China National Space Administration becomes an UAC member.

2052: UAC absorbs the last private space company, becoming a monopolist in the space exploration niche.

July 20, 2069: the construction of the first settlement on the Moon - Base Armstrong was finally completed. Prior to this, all bases were processing plants with minimum personnel, working on a rotational basis.

2075: The construction of the "Baikonur" orbital shipyard, created to assemble the UAC interplanetary ships, was completed.

2076: "Baikonur" shipyard launched the first interplanetary ship "Tsiolkovsky".

2103: Mars City was founded in the crater of Gale, the first permanent base of the UAC on the planet.

2112: The systematic development of the satellites of the outer planets and the asteroid belt begins.

2135: The UAC completes construction of the "Ares" base in Schmidt crater on Mars - the second largest after Mars City.

2142: The UAC begins construction of the "Gagarin" station in Eris orbit (a dwarf planet beyond Pluto, discovered in 2005 by the Hubble telescope).

2147: Completion of the construction of the "Gagarin" station Traces of an unknown element are found on Mars.

2148 год: - Artificial cavities were discovered by the UAC geological expedition on the earth of Prometheus (Mars). Finding information is classified. Started decryption of an alien language.

\- In Chaos Hydraot (Mars), the second outpost of an unknown civilization was discovered. The outpost carried traces of the battle and was hardly damaged. The discovery is classified, research has begun. Decrypted data from the outpost on Earth Prometheus gave the UAC knowledge about the fields of the mass effect. A comprehensive study of this phenomenon has begun.

\- The alien language has finally been decoded. The data from the Martian information repositories are made public; the information enforces the humankind to start of the process of reorganizing the UN into a military-political structure of a federal type. The existence of an outpost in Chaos Hydraot remains an internal secret of the UAC, which is kept strictly within the corporation.

\- Decrypted data from the object "Hydraot" says that on this base an unknown species was used to study an alternative source of energy, which is several times more energy-intensive than both helium-3 and alien samples from the first outpost. Under the guise of another research initiative in the field of energy, the UAC launches the "Genesis" project , for continuing the researches on a long-extinct alien race. The formation of the Earth Alliance is completed.

2149: - The "Charon" mass relay was found and successfully activated, which transferred the UAC expedition led by John Grissom to the Arcturus system in 38 light years from Earth. To protect against external threats, mankind is launch the construction of a huge military fleet and the formation of the Space Marine corps, despite the fact that people have not yet encountered other intelligent races. UAC loses its monopoly in space exploration.

\- As a result of an unknown incident, communication with the "Ares" and "Genesis" bases on Mars is lost. Despite the protests, alarmed by vague explanations and claims that the situation is under the control of the UAC, the Earth Alliance is sending a military expedition to Mars, codenamed "Luminary".

_From the chronology the operation "Luminary". Top-secret._

13.06.2149, 9.30 UTC: Two teams (call sign "Alpha" and "Delta") under the command of captains V. Andreev and J. Romero start to land on the territory of the bases "Ares" and "Genesis". General command is provided by Major J. Carmack.

13.06.2149, 10.13 UTC: The initial inspection showed that the territory of the UAC bases was attacked by an unknown kind of enemy forces, using non-standard weapons based on a thermal and chemical effects. Blood leaks and fragments of non-human parts on walls and floors were found, but the bodies of the attackers were not found. Also, teams found the corpses of personnel bases, part of the bodies, presumably, bears the marks of ritual murders. In addition, on the territory of the bases, inscriptions and signs of clearly occult content were noticed.

13.06.2149, 11.15 UTC: The" Alpha" team at the Genesis site entered into a fire contact. Around the same time, unknown persons attacked the "Delta" team. Examination of the bodies showed that the attackers were personnel and military of the UAC. Anomalous traces of decay were found on the bodies, indicating the time three days before the fire contact with the fire teams.

13.06.2149, 13.13 UTC: High-energy reactions were recorded in the territories of the "Ares" and "Genesis" bases, accompanied by flashes of rust-red color and broadband interference in all ranges of communication and surveillance equipment from ultra-long radio waves to hard ultraviolet. As a result, contact with both groups was temporarily lost.

13.06.2149, 23.45 UTC: The flashes that lasted all day on the sites ceased. Group signals are not fixed. Major Carmack decides to wait a day.

06.14.2149, 17.17 UTC: The cruiser reconnaissance equipment receives signals from missing marines from both bases. Of the entire expedition, only four survived.

06.14.2149, 18.00 UTC: The survivors were evacuated from the facilities. Among them, a soldier of the UAC security service was found.


	2. Prologue 2

_17.06.2149. __Guantanamo Bay detention camp of the System Alliance__, Earth._

A tall, short-haired and sturdy man in the form of the System Alliance Orbital Droptrooper Corps with the insignia of a private sat on a metal bed of a solitary cell, staring thoughtlessly ahead of him. This fighter passed through a lot - at twenty-seven he had already managed to visit several local conflicts. Only a naive man in the street somewhere in Europe thinks that the world is limited to the System Alliance. Obviously not. Even on Earth itself, there are still places that civilization has not reached, and in which, as is always the case, crowds of people dissatisfied with the government of the United Earth lives. And, taking into account the almost medieval order prevailing in those regions of the planet, the population's discontent is not expressed in conversations with TV's. So it turns out that, despite the propaganda pouring from television screens and computer monitors and tinsel loud slogans that the Droptrroper Corps is created to protect humanity from alien aggression, in fact, they have to fight mainly with human brothers. Actually, it was this unfortunate fact that later brought him to this place.

It was in South America. There are generally hot places - despite the fact that Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Venezuela have long become members of the Alliance and civilized countries, the rest of the state remained a hotbed of crime. Many times soldier had to witness how the plantations of drug barons were burned by napalm, dropped from antique turboprop aircraft, which turned out to be unexpectedly effective in the conditions of the jungles of Colombia. And many times soldier, passing with his squad past the village, saw how the local units, without dismantling the right and the guilty, tritely put the entire population of the village to the wall. Then the first promotion, the second, and by his twenties, a young and still naive soldier became a sergeant. How proud he was of his appointment!

But disappointment came very quickly. And the point was not even that the sergeant now had to answer for his subordinates and think with his head — this did not frighten him. But the fact that some orders were contrary to his convictions was unacceptable for a young champion of justice. And one day something happened that had long been brewing. His unit came to the next suppression of the rebellion. All as usual - they came, burned the rebels and left. But then, to some officer from the local rush to show his coolness and to amuse himself's own importance, and he gave the order to the passing section to shoot the local workers at the plantation. His section, to be exact.

By that time, the sergeant had already realized that most of the locals works on the plantations not from a good life. Maybe they could find a job, but without a good education, no one could count on good money, and when you have five small children, you will bow to anyone to feed them. And in such places only the drug baron gives money in debt. And, of course, he forces them to work them out on his plantation, thus actually buying the whole family - children always want to eat.

So no wonder that the sergeant refused to shoot. Local, enraged by the answer, immediately grabbed a pistol and began to threaten the fighter with all the punishments of heaven.

ODTs was trained very well, but now it played a cruel joke. The body worked faster than the brain, and the sergeant, seeing a pistol in the hand of a neurasthenic officer, which was already aimed at him, raised his weapon reflexively and pulled the trigger. The heavy bullet of the rifle tore the officer half of his bad head. In fact, it was not even a bullet, but a rocket-assisted projectile, which was pushed out of the barrel with a small dose of either gunpowder or nitrocellulose, and after exiting the barrel, the main charge that actually delivered the projectile to the target ignited. The weapon was made specifically for space battles, and in the atmosphere it had an effective combat distance of about five hundred meters, but at this distance any target which was not protected by armor comparable to the IFV's was guaranteed to receive a deadly impact.  
At the sound of the shot, the subordinates of the deceased immediately ran there, and, seeing the officer's corpse, opened fire. The Alliance ODTs did not remain in debt, and a shootout ensued. However, given the difference in equipment and training, it was a uniform slaughter for the locals.  
Of course, after that there was a tribunal. The sergeant, as the squad leader, took all the blame at the trial. He understood that he was waiting for the execution, but unexpectedly for him, he was amnestied even left in the armed forces, deprived of his rank, awards and sent to the distant garrison on the southern border of the former Mexico.  
In that garrison private spent five long years of his service, until Fortune smiled at him again. In fact, it was more a grin, expressed in a large and well-armed convoy carrying drugs across the border. No one knows, how much success was in that raid, or was that only the professionalism, but the fact remains that the command noticed the private soldier and transferred him to combat troops, despite on the graph in his personal file. The titles to him, however, have not been returned.  
And now, at the age of twenty-seven, he returned to what was at nineteen when, in view of the demonstrated skills, he was transferred to droptroopers. And then this task - fly to Mars, to the UAC bases, and find out what happened there. Along the way, pull out the local egg heads. The soldier strongly suspected that the commanders were also instructed to find out exactly what they were doing at those bases. If the "Ares" base was still a well-known place, controlled by the UAC, first time soldier heared about the existence of the "Genesis" base was only at a briefing. It is good that not his squad was sent to this very "Genesis".  
Bad foreboding flooded even when approaching. The soldier was used to trusting his instincts, and now they were yelling that they were going into a trap. What the soldiers saw after the landing only strengthened his suspicions. And then...  
The sound of the opened door distracted the soldier from the surging memory.  
\- Private Taggart, - the escort called out, - without personal items, on the way out.  
\- "Standard phrase, - the sergeant grinned to himself, - "What personal items do you see on me, the rear rat?"  
Taggart slowly got out of bed and walked out. The guard led him along fairly wide corridors of the base. Surprising, if you know its purpose. A couple of times other people came to meet them, with and without a convoy. In one of these people, Taggart unexpectedly saw a familiar face.  
\- Grimm? - the former sergeant thought with surprise, - how the world is cramped. First we fought on Mars together, now we are sitting in the same prison.  
Grimm also clearly recognized his colleague, nodding to him very slightly. Taggart answered the same. Naturally, they were not allowed to speak - they were in military prison, after all.  
Soon, Taggart was brought into the interrogation office. The situation was already familiar. Two chairs, a table, a big mirror and, of course, a bunch of sensors. On one of the chairs was already sitting a man with an inconspicuous face in the form of System Alliance Intelligence Service.  
-Private Taggart, - greeted the military officer of the SAIS, - come in, sit down.  
After waiting for the man to settle in his chair, the security officer continued.  
\- So, Private Flynn Taggart, the codemane is "Fly", - said the officer, twisting his fingers between each other and setting them so that they couldn't see the mouth, - The former sergeant of Orbital Droptroopers, had rewards until he was demoted for disobeying the order and the murder of an allied officer.  
That was it. Although degraded Taggart precisely for the murder. By and large, the former sergeant, as a representative of the supranational structure, could ignore the order given by the officer of the territorial armed forces in a non-combat situation, and she, whatever one may say, was just that - the operation had already been completed. But the killing of the officer on the brakes did not lower, reasoning that it is easier to whip out the sergeant of the ODT revealingly, than to spoil relations with a relatively loyal government.  
\- So, private, - continued the interrogator, - we are interested in the circumstances of the death of your group during operation "Luminary". Tell us all. From the very beginning and as much detailed as possible. The stories of Private Sanders, sergeants Glazkov and Grimm, we have already heard, now it's your turn.  
Taggart fidgeted a little on the chair, settling himself in, and folding his hands on the table — he was not chained, which was reassuring, and, as if reluctantly, began the story.  
\- It all started on the approach to the Ares base. Even then I began to attend bad presentiments...

_From the report on the operation "__ Luminary__ "._

_... Based on the words of the surviving Orbital Droptroopers, namely: Sergeant John Grimm, Sergeant Alexei Glazkov, Private Flynn Taggart, Private Arlen Sanders, as well as the surviving member of the UAC security service, the former major of the Orbital Droptrooper Corps John Kane, and data from the cameras the ODTs and the received documents of the UAC, the analytical department of the SAIS, concluded that the UAC at the "Ares" and "Genesis" bases conducted illegal and dangerous experiments for humanity. Also, the UAC has been studying untested alien technologies, which is contrary to the Convention on Technologies of Extraterrestrial Origin, the study of which resulted in the opening of a so-called portal to another world, populated by a race that is extremely aggressive towards humanity, conventionally called "demons" due to the characteristic appearance of some of its representatives. Moreover, it is this world that is the source of the famous energy carrier, called Argent-energy..._

\- Well, and how should I understand this?

A tall man in the form of the admiral of the fleet of the Alliance of Systems broke away from the report and added:

\- Show me the addict who wrote this thing!

\- The reports of my analysts are accurate, and you know that perfectly well, Hiram, - said the man in the black uniform of the SAIS, - they are really confronted with extraterrestrial life.  
\- And an extremely aggressive life, - added the elderly commander of the ODTC, - no requirements, no warnings. They just growl and spit plasma.

\- Well, actually, not only with plasma - a balding wedge wedged in, but a vigorous old man in civilian clothes, - based on the report, your military also underwent a chemical attack in the form of nerve poison, corrosive and...

\- Mr. Beck, - the admiral interrupted him, - we will listen to your calculations later, be sure.

\- I am also worried about the fact, - said a forty-year-old man in civilian who was still silent, - that the UAC conducted forbidden experiments with alien technologies and explored extraterrestrial life, although, upon detection of such, it should have immediately transferred this case to the Alliance. Moreover, after the accident, their leadership attempted to silence it. As a result, we have more than sixty thousand dead and twenty-one droptroopers. This is not just a disaster, gentlemen. The UAC directly violated all the agreements between it and the System Alliance, hiding behind the fact that they, you see, are still ahead of the entire state in space exploration and energy.

\- Mr. President, - took the floor of the SAIS officer, - I think we should not publicize the details of this accident. If people find out that next to them, on a neighboring planet, portals can be opened to another world, it definitely will not add people who want to colonize new planets. As for the UAC, we can say that the group sent found that during the illegal experiments on the creation of weapons of mass destruction based on argent-energy a catastrophe occurred, as a result of which the entire personnel of the bases was killed. And, especially, it is not necessary to specify exactly how the UAC received argent-energy.

\- Do you really think that people will believe in this nonsense? - snorted commander of the ODTC.

\- The people believe in what they want to believe, dear Marat Ignatievich. And the UAC, with their ambitions, has fed up with very many. Now, when it has lost its monopoly in space, the management of the corporation will want to recoup in another industry - energy. And here is the result. So this undeclared war with the UAC would still start, it is a matter of time. Now all the cards in our hands, you can make them move.

\- Yes, and one more thing, - the admiral jumped up, - in the report on the operation I repeatedly encountered a certain "Doom Slayer". Can anyone tell me who this is and what he did on the "Genesis" base?

\- Apparently, - Beck began to speak, - The Doom Slayer is another specie of unearthly origin. Judging by the UAC databases, Slayer was found during one of the expeditions to the alien world, - the old man was a materialist, and the word "demons" was avoided in every way, - Probably his appearance is hostile to the majority of aliens, and at least neutral in relation to us, Sergeant Glazkov spent some time with him and noted his professionalism in exterminating these ... creatures.

\- Gentlemen, - the president took the floor, - I suggest we take a break. A similar amount of information requires reflection and careful deliberation. Everybody's Free. Break for an hour.  
All those present in the office almost synchronously rose from the table and dispersed.

_From various orders related to the Martian incident._

_... To secret all that happened during the operation "__ Luminary__ ", with the survivors take a non-disclosure subscription ..._

_... Start an investigation into the activities of the UAC on the fact of numerous violations of the conventions of the System Alliance..._

_... To initiate a criminal case against the Director-General of the UAC, Dr. Samuel Hayden on the fact of conducting illegal research, negligence, which resulted in the mass victims of the station personnel ..._

_... For courage and professionalism, to award the next militaries of the ODTC of the System Alliance ..._

_... In view of the dangers of research conducted by the UAC, recognize the above corporation as uncontrolled by the Government of the System Alliance, and, in view of the dangers, launch the "AutoDafe" procedure for the UAC ..._

_... In view of the ineffectiveness of the current military training of the Armed Forces of the Alliance to repel aggression of an alien species, conventionally called "demons", create a military program, code-named "Nephilim" (for simplicity, program N), to organize the retraining of suitable soldiers of the Orbital Droptrooper Corps to repel possible alien attacks. Organize a comprehensive study in order to obtain information on more effective countering aliens and the use of Argent-energy ..._

_... Expand a military expedition to the former base of the UAC "Genesis" to search for and, if necessary, help the Domm Slayer object and its subsequent delivery to the scientific center for negotiations and, if necessary, for researching ..._

The group under the command of Lieutenant Taggart moved along the abandoned complex. Even now, after several months, this place has retained its frightening appearance - besides them, several groups have gathered here, having collected information on the activities of the UAC at the facility.

The UAC ... the once powerful corporation, in which many people saw the future, is now collapsing before our eyes. The sea of litigation, revealed major violations - all this was hitting the company's reputation more and more. Already, the UAC is forced to reduce workers, which was not previously followed, and moreover, to give its assets to the state for a pittance. Although now the lieutenant was a sin to complain - the UAC got what she deserved.

But now Taggart was not thinking about the future of the company that built this complex. His platoon had a clear order - to find a man under the code name "Doom Slayer", who walked with a bloody whirlwind during the massacre in the complex. By the way, now all the Droptroopers who survived the massacre, including Glazkov, who witnessed the power of this warrior, were attached to the platoon. And if at least half of what Alexey told in a confidential conversation, is true, then this guy would be a great help if another war with hellish creatures begins.

\- Lieutenant, - the voice of John "Reaper" Grimm sounded in his helmet, - I think I found an object that fits the description.

\- "Finally, - thought Flynn, - soon we will pull out this super-soldier, wherever he is, and dump him from this goddamned planet."

The device that the squad was looking for was nothing more than a teleportation force. Judging by the records of Dr. Hayden, with whose filing all this fuss began, an experimental system was installed on the Slayer's suit that allowed him to teleport the warrior from Hell, activating a special portal. This is what the squad was looking for. In principle, it was possible to build another teleport, but the command decided not to risk losing another complex, using the old one. Any fighter was able to use the complex - the command was not fully aware of what the platoon was waiting for at the base, and, as a result, there was a non-zero probability of losing the installation operator during the teleport search.

After some time, the whole platoon occupied the space near the installation, taking a teleportation platform on the scope and getting ready to load any creature that would come out of it with a **r**ocket-assisted projectiles. After that, one of the fighters went to the control panel, set up and launched the installation.

Installation started and buzzed. The rumble grew, until it turned into a squeak that was nasty to the gnashing of teeth. And when this sound had already become unbearable, the space on the platform flashed with a pale blue light, and a second later a tall humanoid appeared in the flash in a dirty green armor. He was clearly badly beaten - some of the armors were torn off, some of them were caked, and in several places holes were visible from which red blood, like in humans, flowed.

The newcomer, who had barely ceased to hold the force field of the platform, fell to his knees and mumbled something unintelligible, fell on his side. Waiting for Taggart's permissive nod, Lieutenant Glazkov approached the stranger and carefully, trying not to disturb him, examined him and, having connected a scanner, checked his vital signs.

\- Lieutenant, - said Alexey, - this is definitely our client. True, he is barely alive.

Taggart did not hesitate for a long time.

\- So, the group, attention. The object is found, ship it and leave. Our client is half-dead, and I do not want him to die in my arms.

\- Don't worry, sir, not in our watch, - in response to the joke of an unknown wit, a wave of giggles passed through the platoon that defused the situation. Fly didn't react to this - it's understandable that people are on edge, in such and such a place.

_From the report on the researcing of the artifact "Praetorian Armor" and the report on the negotiations with the alien "Doom Slayer"._

_... During the reseach of the Praetorian Armor, it became clear that the armor plates of the artifact are almost immune to any type of weapon known to humanity. In addition, the costume revealed additional functions: small gauges on gloves and a chest plate, which attracts the argent-plasma and distributes it to tiny tubes - capillaries, which makes it possible to judge that the armor suit was created with the expectation of an operator whose body is capable of no harmful effects. to react with the argent-energy ..._

_... The question of creating terrestrial analogues of an armored suit is still open, but the research team can already make several suggestions for improving the samples of an existing armor ..._

_... during the conversation with the Doom Slayer, it turned out that he is a representative of a kindred to humanity, whose paths diverged during the times when Mars was inhabited. Part of proto-mankind moved to Earth, where it supposedly merged with local life, and some, fleeing from a dying planet, opened a portal to the world of demons, where they lived for several thousand years ..._

_... to the question about the kinsmen Doom Slayer answered that he was probably the last man standing of his kind. In any case, he knows nothing about other relatives ..._

_... when asked about the relationship with the demons, the object said that their branch of humanity had long fought a war with the demons — approximately from the very appearance of his kindred in Argent D'Nour. The object itself was the commander of one of the units of the army, and in his time humanity had already lost the war to the demons ..._

_... According to the object, the proteans appeared on Mars much later than the Exodus, mentioned by the Doom Slayer, to another world. By that time, the Slayer had been lying in a sarcophagus for several centuries, maintaining him in a state of stasis, until the scientific expedition of the protean into the world of demons pulled him out ..._

_... the purpose of the protean in the complex studied by the UAC on the "Genesis" base was the studying of Hell and the searching for alternatives to the effect of mass effect technologies. In fact, this race made the same mistake as the UAC, starting to use the portal short-sightedly. According to Doom Slayer, in both cases, the demons managed to subordinate part of the personnel of the base to their will, and they, having made the necessary manipulations to open the portal, allowed the demons to enter the planet. The fact that the second protean complex was not touched, Slayer explained that the demons did not have time to get to the outpost before the evacuation. At the same time, the UAC managed to provide both complexes with teleportation devices, which made the task of demons much easier ..._

_... As a result of the interview, the Facility gave its consent to participate in the Nefilim project as a consultant on demonic technologies and the demons themselves ..._

_... As part of the conspiracy, I propose to give the Doom Slayer a biography and a name, as he refused to give his own name, justifying this with a religious vow: "... to be a silent weapon of extermination of the Pit Creatures until the last of the Abyss tribe expresses its spirit" (quote from the Slayer himself) ..._

_12.20.2149. Center for retraining of the Space landing Forces under the Nephilim program. Land, exact location unknown._

A tall man in the form of a colonel of the ODTC stood in front of the huge screens of the command center, watching the droptroopers training. Surprisingly, in just half a year the newly formed training center was rebuilt and received its first wards. The man smiled to himself - I remember when he met, as his new chief said, "the best soldiers of mankind," he said only one word:

\- Not hopeless.

The colonel's skepticism could be understood - what the troopers showed was nothing compared to what he himself was used to. And, moreover, such methods of warfare were extremely ineffective against such an enemy as demons. However, the colonel was not much disappointed - the demons were too specific an enemy to just so easily change tactics. But, to the credit of his charges, they quickly learned.

His wards ... What would his ancestors say if they knew that he actually gave all the secrets to people? Nothing, guess. As it turned out, the demons became enemies and distant relatives of his species. To distant relatives ... The Colonel could not have imagined that he would one day encounter those who, for his own people, had long become a legend. And that now he not only teaches them, but also became part of their army.

\- Colonel Todt, - came the sound from behind him. The man turned around. Before him stood a young, still soldier in a lieutenant's uniform.

\- Report, - said the colonel.

\- Sir, General Starinov wants to see you, - the orderly reported.

Todt mentally cursed. He completely forgot about the visit of the Commander-in-Chief of the ODTC. A middle-aged man who identified himself as the first meeting of Marat Ignatievich, evoked involuntary respect from the colonel. There was in him some kind of ... rod or something.

The thoughts of the colonel smoothly shifted to those days when he woke up in the infirmary of the military Alliance ship. Damned Hayden knew where to send him to take for a VERY long time. And after all, it took, which is characteristic - Todt would never have thought that he would cater to the realm of Abbad'Don, the Titan of Extermination. Actually, it was he who morphed Todt to a pulp. And, most likely, would have sent to the next world, if not the "safety system", with which he was sent into the mouth of the Titan. Only now she took advantage of its intended purpose. But in the best of times, Abbad'Don would rather be given the horns of a colonel, and not vice versa. Damned Hayden ...

Then there was the hospital, and countless inquiries. "Relatives" were literally interested in everything: from the technology of creating analogues of the Praetorian armor to the social structure of its people. Tod did not mind: he probably would have done the same if he were in their place.

And then he was suddenly given a name. His Soldier Roca forgot a few thousand years ago. For a long time, he believed that he was the only representative of his species, until a meeting with a lone paratrooper at the "Genesis" site convinced him to the contrary. Now his name was Michael Todt.  
Apparently, the Alliance, unlike the UAC, decided to make more rational use of its strength and knowledge, putting it as a mentor of the center for retraining local warriors. The program "Nefilim", or simply N. And now, it seems, the commander-in-chief decided to check what his subordinate spent on the allocated funds. Rather, the result of these injections.

_From the document on the program "N"._

_The Nephilim program (hereinafter referred to as the "N program") was created for the retraining of the WBC soldiers for alien-threatened battles known as "demons." The basis of the program is, in addition to the retraining of soldiers, an extensive program of genetic correction aimed at increasing the stamina, strength and dexterity of the soldiers, as well as a genetic modification that allows the human body to use Argent-energy for regeneration and resistance to aggressive effects. Thus, the goal of the program is to transform a person into the likeness of a resident of Argent D'Nur (whose representative is Michael Todt). Since argent-energy is extremely aggressive with respect to a living organism, not every person can be subjected to such a genetic correction, which precludes carrying out this procedure on the entire ODT Corps. At the moment, in program N, the division into seven categories is conditionally accepted._

_N1: Recruit program, eligible for participation. A theoretical course was heard, gene therapy was not performed. Passed psychological testing for resistance to demonic stupefying._

_N2: Initial gene therapy performed. As part of the group passed ground test against possessed animals._

_N3: A qualifying test has been completed at the proving ground against those who are obsessed in the "one against the crowd" format._

_N4: Conducted major gene correction. Passed qualification testing format "group against the lower" (a group of soldiers against the detachment of the lower demons to Revenant inclusive)._

_N5: Secondary gene correction performed. Passed test test format "group against the highest demons." To avoid significant damage, the test is conducted on a remote asteroid._

_N6: Gene refinement was performed. Held a sortie to Hell in the group. Time outing - at least 24 hours / until the appearance of dangerous creatures of the highest category (see. __Appendix)_

_N7: The final genotype refinement has been carried out (the gene therapy procedure is fully completed). At least five sorties were made to Hell. Passed a series of tests of the format "one against the crowd of the lower", "group against the higher", "command of the group." Also surely confirmed the murder of at least five demons of the class "Baron Hell" or fifteen opponents of the class "Knight of Hell". Also, a confirmed assassination of an opponent of the "Cyberdemon" class / Guardian of Hell / Duke of Hell (un-Cyborgized version of Cyberdemona) in a group or alone can be recognized as a score ..._

_Application:_

_... In view of the extraordinary success in the battle with demons, the N7 externally category was assigned to Flynn Taggart, Arlen Sanders, John Grimm, Alexey Glazkov, John Kane, and is retained for them in the event that it is impossible to pass the gene correction when N7GP is assigned (genetically pure, English genetically clean)..._


	3. Hell on Earth Ch 1

_2151: The opening of several portals from the world of demons to different parts of the Earth. The following cities came under attack: Los Angeles, Jerusalem, Kyoto, Nara, Mecca, Moscow, Istanbul, Barcelona, Delhi, Rome ... Later this event was called the Great Cataclysm, or Doomsday._

_07.13.2151. The Earth. Los Angeles._

The howl of a siren made the young lieutenant jump and curse silently. Of course, the officer's desk is not the right place to speak hard, for the officer must be an example for his subordinates. And it does not matter that the young man received the second lieutenant a week ago. The officer jumped up from the table with lightning speed and, taking a sad glance at the half-eaten breakfast, ran to the barracks for equipment, which was where all the armament of his platoon was stored.

The movements, memorized over the years of service, pulling on the armor and picking up a rifle, the officer headed to the headquarters, fleetingly listening to calls from a megaphone for slow officers to attend the briefing for instructions.

Soon he, along with other commanders, was sitting in front of a large projector, and Colonel Murdoch, their commander, spoke in a calm voice:

\- Gentlemen, the situation is difficult. At 4:00 AM, an unknown anomaly appeared near the center of Los Angeles. The UAV, which was sent there, recorded the beyond-limit level of argent-energy in the atmosphere, as well as a significant number of unknown biological organisms appearing from the anomaly zone. Drone managed to transfer several pictures before the contact was lost.

The city map was replaced by fuzzy pictures from a height - apparently, they did not have time to process the picture. But, nevertheless, among the clubs of reddish smoke it was possible to distinguish squat, stooped figures resembling monkeys. Impressions were added by the fact that a part of these... animals, clearly moved along the walls of buildings. There were others, taller and more erect, more human-like. But something told the officer that they could be anyone, but not people. In general, the picture, in the lieutenant's opinion, was rather repulsive, and the young officer had already managed to rejoice that most of the breakfast remained on the tray in the dining room. It was painfully repulsive pictures with UAV's.

\- As you see, our enemy has nothing similar with people, - the colonel continued, - so from now on you can consider them aliens. The few police units could not hold out for long, but according to their reports it is clear that the aliens are extremely aggressive and do not make any contact. So everything in the city, which is different from a person, you can safely consider the enemy and shoot. Now for the tasks...

From Murdoch's instructions, it was clear that the army's general goal was to cordon off the captured part of the city and hold it until the landing of the droptrooper forces. The lieutenant shook his head in disgust - again the ODT's would do all the work. No, he didn't smile once again to face the brethren of those images that were in the pictures, but you can't underestimate your own army so much! They are not lousy territorial units, which were recruited from those who failed to join the mobile troops. Yes, the orbital droptroopers the elite of the elites and everything, but still the lieutenant was getting hurt. Meanwhile, the turn came to him:

\- Harper, you and your platoon will occupy a bridge over the river in the area of Suburby Park. Aliens must not get there yet, so you have time to dig in. Your task is to prevent the enemy from forcing the river - from your position a direct road to the airport. In the gain you will be given a pair of IFV. You need to hold out until the evening, then you will be replaced. And be careful - we do not know the potential of the enemy.

\- Yes, sir, - Harper replied, sitting down. This day is becoming worse and worse.

_07.07.2151. Land. Los Angeles. Late evening._

\- Hmm, I didn't like this order for nothing, - second lieutenant Jack Harper thought detachedly, clutching a sniper rifle in his hands, - maybe my father was right to say that there would be no good from the army.

Frankly, Harper never really thought much about the army. Yes, and it was not necessary, for a man whose father is one of the directors of the UAC. And Jack would have been a worthy successor to his father's business, but alas, Harper Jr. in high school met one very interesting man named George Manes. Manes was the son of a hereditary military man and intended to continue the tradition. So he buzzed ears to Harper, about how good it is to be a soldier. The status in society is high, and the weapons they trust you, they give the form beautiful, in the end. From the height of current experience, Harper understood all the nonsense of such arguments, but then they seemed to him very convincing. Needless to say, the father was very unhappy with his son's statement that he would not go to college or university, but would go to join the army. Father was raging, tearing and throwing metal, and Jack, quickly realizing that his plans were in danger of going downhill, quickly packed up and rushed to the nearest recruiting point.

Harper smiled, remembering the face of the recruiting officer when he realized who it was that he had come to recruit. Harpers, as members of the UAC Board of Directors, were quite recognizable personalities. And the reaction to the appearance of an offspring of such a well-known and, what to conceal, a rich family on the threshold of the recruiting station was predictable - a quiet shock and the subsequent rush. But, as you know, the army in the USA is a voluntary affair, and after a few days Jack ended up in the "Training camp" about which a school friend spoke with such a sacred, but fearful reverence.

The training part was remembered by Jack primarily because there was no difference where you came from. What was important was that you could do what the instructor required of you, or not. At first, no one could. It seemed that the course of the young fighter was specially made so that the recruit could not fulfill the requirements. From this, the sergeant seemed to become more savage. Mindly, Jack understood that the drill sergeant was either really worried about them, or simply played well. But it did not get any easier.

Three months later recruits completed their training in the camp. And now each of them had to arrive at their permanent place of service. In addition, each soldier was assigned a military registration code. Jack received R02s-T111 (approx. Recon-02 Sniper / Terrestrial-111: military registration specialty code, decoded as Recon-Private 1st Class (R02), Planetary Troops (T), Earth (111)), and set off in its part, located near Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, Harper spent two years, and managed to rise to the sergeant anniversary and receive a few thanks from the officers by his twentieth. And then part of them was sent to Colombia. The local government asked for help in the struggle with the insurgents, or drug barons. Jack didn't really care about who to shoot at that time. It was then that he became acquainted with death. It turned out that the locals hide very well in the jungle. And they love traps. Upon arrival, their regiment was notably shuffled and provided assistance from more experienced soldiers, but there were losses. And sometimes death came in a very unpleasant form.

Perhaps it was then that Harper realized that there was no romance in the war, that Manes was wrong. That war is dirt, blood and cunning "guerillas" in the jungle. Frankly, after the thinning division had returned home, Harper already wanted to quit, as several colleagues did, but a case once again intervened in his fate. The delegation arrived at the award ceremony, in which Jack was amazed to see ... yes, his friend George Manes. The sight of a sleek schoolmate, in the form of a needle and epaulettes of a captain with a respectable father, made Harper dull roar with rage, forcing his neighbors in the ranks to look suspiciously at him.

\- "You fucking bastard, - Harper thought angrily, unwittingly clenching his fists, - That means that for YOU, the army. Just a business, huh?! For you, the service is REALLY the way you described it, as for your fat daddy. I wonder if you, monkeys, held the assault rifle in your hands since you ended thetraining course?! I don't think so. All you, motherfuckers, have the same - training is finished, and a compassionate dad pulls the child and attaches closer to him! And those who are not arrogant, goes as an officer in hot spots, gets a couple of medals on his chest. And then cut through the corridors of the "combat" generals! You fucking ass lickers! These medals and orders should get to more worthy guys and girls! But fuck! For jarheads, it remains only to pull the strap and die in the ass of the world, in order for such moral freaks to hang themselves another reward !"

Probably at this moment Harper realized that he would not take root with his father. The army acted too much to him. And he knows too well the value of human life to let it go to the wind, as it was before the army. But Jack Harper was not one of those people whom such a discovery would break. On the contrary, the future lieutenant with even greater zeal attacked the training, gaining the respect of the command and the soldiers, however, the latter were also afraid of him. But Harper didn't want to serve as a planetary force anymore, so immediately after arriving at the unit he wrote an application for transfer to the mobile infantry. Two weeks later, a confirmation of the transfer and an order to appear in the new part came. And already during the flight, he heard from the news that some of the guerrillas in Colombia had managed to attack the headquarters of the Alliance forces, as a result of which General Maynes was killed and his adjutant was seriously wounded.

\- Yeah, that's what I call Justice, - Harper thought vengefully, looking at the crippled former friend who was giving the interview to the journalist, - now you, Joe, drank the war because I don't want to. Now you know the price of victory.  
Again, training, refresher courses, and now Harper back in the ranks. Further service differed, perhaps, with more intensive preparation and periodic training of drop-offs by shuttles (after all, they were not droptroopers to jump from space in armor with a one-time maneuver-brake satchel behind his back). So Jack quickly became involved, and soon received an invitation to take officer courses. Harper Jr. did not hesitate for a long time, and after a while returned to the location of the unit already the second lieutenant. He was twenty-five, and the future seemed cloudless. Up to this day.

At first everything went well. Before the bridge to get them no one interfered. The platoon settled in, deploying machine guns and grenade launchers. The IFV's, having distributed the shelling sector, dug in, preparing to bring down a squall of shells with a plasma filling. Soldiers feverishly tested new-fanged lightning guns - the technologies of the late UAC found their niche in modern warfare. Well, Harper, having settled away from the main fighters in accordance with the old habit, settled down and waited - at the moment his leadership was not required. The soldiers themselves seemed to understand that if the enemy had already passed into the very center of the city, and it was not possible to crush it to the territorial troops, then it was more than a serious enemy.

And then it began. At first the connection was gone. Only transmitters worked at short distances. But I could not contact the headquarters. At that time Harper did not know that at about the same time the raid units of the demons, passing through the sewage system, passed through the cordon and headed towards the military airfields, killing everything in their path. Some of the units were able to track down and destroy, only the ghost demons could not be tracked then, and it was they who got to the nearest air bases, staging a bloody massacre on them.

In the meantime, the company met the first enemies. They turned out to be ... the revived dead, who, staggering, walked forward, sometimes opening their mouths. Harper saw them before everyone else - sometimes the habit of wearing a sniper rifle instead of a machine gun gives an unexpected result. And the fact that the lieutenant saw in the sight, obviously used to be people, why it became even more terrible.

In an amicable way, it was worth letting them closer, but what is called the human factor intervened. One of the soldiers lost their nerves, and with a cry of horror he began to shoot into a wandering crowd. Bill ... he did not say this, but Harper always knew that everything supernatural frightened him. It was worth the effort, but Harper did not. Whether or not this was a mistake, Jack later thought about it several times, and still came to the conclusion that during that very first encounter with the monsters from Argent D'Nur could not do anything. All subsequent events were predetermined.

The company, as if dumbfounded, watered the walking dead with streams of bullets and plasma. IFV and the rocket launchers vacated entire glades in the ranks of the enemy. Some fighters reached overheating of the radiators of plasma guns, and they had to temporarily withdraw from the battle. Meanwhile, the dead continued to advance. It was creepy and beautiful at the same time. Harper goose bumps on the skin of a scarecrow spectacle of disfigured, eyeless zombies that went to the slaughter right on the bodies of fallenmates, not paying attention to the loss. But, although Harper himself couldn't admit it, there was a euphoria rising inside him from the feeling that they were fighting off this "attack of the dead." These are not shy partisans who shoot from the bushes in the jungle and go away if they encounter decent resistance. The joy of a quick victory enraptured even Harper, not to mention the newbies.

As it turned out, they rejoiced in vain. All this was one big trap, designed only for one thing - to give the shock troops to come closer. People did not immediately realize that their fire had ceased to be effective. And what stands against them is no longer the horde of mindless dead, but an evil flock of creepy beasts with burning eyes and keratinous skin. And that the bullets against them are far from being so effective. And the monsters, meanwhile, with a jubilant scream, from which the blood runs cold in their veins, rushed to the positions of the company.

To the credit of the soldiers, they did not flinch at the sight of monsters who could provide a heart attack with a particularly impressionable person with one appearance. Monsters began to water with double the rage. It turned out that only the front part of the monster's body was covered with horn armor, and the shells fired from the heavy grenade launchers exploded over their heads and literally stuffed their less solid back with shrapnel. No enemy ran up to the positions of the soldiers. The first attack choked, but it was only the beginning ...

The response to multiple attacks is late. The reasons for this were many. Someone was just afraid to report the incident where necessary, fearing that they would accept him for a madman. Someone did it intentionally, believing that he would do it on his own and receive honor, a raise and a medal on his chest. But what exactly was common was that no one expected such. All the tactics and planning of the war was designed for a war with a civilization based on the Mass Effect, which means no one expected a sudden attack on the CAPITAL WORLD. The fact that the information about the likely enemy - the proteans, became obsolete for fifty thousand years, everyone tried not to think. Some expressed the opinion that if the proteans had not yet visited earthlings who had opened the outpost, then their state was probably occupied with more pressing problems, or even disintegrated.

One way or another, no one responded on time. And then the time for the localization of the conflict is gone.

Of course, on Earth were stationed units capable of dealing with demons. There were Orbital Droptroopers, and people, who passed the "N" project. But they were few, especially the latter. And the portal was not alone.

_07.15.2151. Land. Suburb of Moscow._

\- You, motherfucker! I know that we are Droptroopers, but if we do not get air or art strike, we will be demolished! - Captain of the ODTC Alexey Glazkov, despite the seemingly words of panic, was furious. One of the few who survived the operation on Mars, he knew more than anyone who such demons were and how dangerous they were. And now, when the seventh wave of monsters is already rolling on the positions allocated to him from the north, he had serious doubts that he would live to the eighth.

Of the entire company of the ODT, reinforced by a platoon of special forces from the "N" program, thirty-two people survived, seventeen of them were from "Nefilim". The strongest survived, with a status higher than N4. And the Droptroopers ... they are good fighters, but they were simply not prepared for war with SUCH enemy.

Naturally, the position was guarded by more than one company. At the moment there was a whole division of the Alliance troops. Rather, what is left of it. It turns out that the demons for the past time were not idle. Air strikes were effective until the Cacodemons appeared — toothy, one-eyed orb-like balls that looked like rotten tomatoes, and which were surprisingly spat out by acid balls, which were corroding the plating with amazing speed. What can we say about the armored vehicles, which for the most part served as a good target for monsters like Revenants or, what to conceal, Cyberdemons. So, only strategic aviation, long-range artillery or aerospace forces could provide normal support to the defenders. But, the aerospace forces did not arrive immediately, and the artillery turned out to be too little.

\- Glazkov, - came the even voice in the earpiece. Alexey knew many commanders, but THIS voice, whose owner seemed to have survived Hell, he would have learned from a thousand, - this is Todt. Support will be in thirty minutes. They need adjustment in place.

\- We will it, sir, - answered the captain, - will there be reinforcements?

\- At the end of the day you will be replaced, Captain, - Todt said, - the soldiers of your level are too few.

-Understood, - answered Glazkov, - we will try to hold on.

Switching the channel, captain N7 continued:

\- Listen up, guys! They'll give a blow in half an hour. But for half an hour we have to hold out on our own, so we rake out what we have and hold on! Let's show these creatures what it means to attack the humans!

It was the second day of the war...

_07.15.2151. Land. Los Angeles. Early morning._

And yet they had to leave the position. It was possible to restrain the attacks of the demons only until the evening, the last of which made the defenders of the bridge give everything to the last. Fifteen people remained in the roster, including Harper himself. The wounded volunteered to stay behind to cover the retreat. It didn't delay the demons for a long time, but they couldn't even pursue the missing companies - the abandoned soldiers could blow up the bridge.

The most interesting thing is that there was no point in the defense of the bridge at the end of the first day. Monsters, instead of banging their heads against a fortified area, banally walked around him from the north, and, striking the defenses of one of the bridges from the rear, opened the way to untapped areas. The airport was taken in the middle of the fourteenth, and Harper and his soldiers were saved from death only by the ability to move quickly and, oddly enough, the thirst for the blood of demons. The creatures, having escaped to the operational space, instead of finishing off the still resisting soldiers, began with ecstasy to cut the civilian population, choosing less protected targets. So Harper and his men managed to slip out of the trap. However, they did not win much from this. The soldiers suddenly found themselves in a city filled with demons, without orders, with minimal ammunition and in a hostile environment.

\- Holy fucking shit, - Harper said to himself, - how should I fight in such conditions?! I didn't get into such mess even in Colombia.

The issue with ammunition was resolved unexpectedly - the forward patrol came across a police station. The weapon there was not a military standard, but the soldiers, whose ammunition was coming to an end, were happy about that. Moreover, the police department had not only a solid arsenal, but also strong walls in which you can dig in and relax. Afterchecking some of the soldiers had to change the standard weapon to the police versions, and even gangster samples, why the remnants of the company began to look more like a well-armed gang. Harper himself did not become an exception, replacing his army rifle with a police one. It was a pity to throw out the entrusted weapon, but there was no choice - from a sniper rifles in the arsenal only a large-caliber one remained, standing alone in a weapon cabinet in splendid isolation. She was much heavier and more cumbersome than Harper's. In addition, it was hardly possible to shoot from it without a bipod. But this was compensated to some extent by its destructive power, which Harper was somewhat pleased with - for such a rifle the Hellknights armor, and even the Barons of Hell would not be a big problem. Harper also got a good submachine gun, which, to the delight of the lieutenant, demanded the same ammunition as his pistol. And then, obeying a strange feeling, Jack took from the shelf decorated with a beautiful, albeit slightly erased engraving, edge of the shotgun with a bandolier. As practice has shown, the choice was right ...

Theplatoon spent the night in the same area. The soldiers had to barricade themselves seriously, leaving only small loopholes. We slept in shifts, so that in the end, every fighter managed to get some sleep. According to Jack, people needed more time to rest, and it would be worth staying longer. But, as you know, all good things tend to end at the most unexpected moment.  
\- Demons! - hit the ears of a desperate cry of a lookout. It looks like a soldier from fear has forgotten that he has a headset. And, as if in confirmation of his cry, a triumphant scream was heard on the street.

Flynn Taggart led his squad into the city center. Opportunities own body after passing the "N" courses hit. If such people like him and his boys now met demons on Mars, the losses would have been much less. And maybe they could have been avoided altogether. However, it was precisely the attack that allowed the project to start, so that, as the Russians say, "no great loss without some small gain". And let the soldiers of the project N is small, but each of them in battle is worth a dozen monsters. On the other hand, the demons can easily withstand such exchange. And Flynn knew firsthand about their cruelty and love of murder. So, flying over the city, which had managed to lose its peaceful appearance during these days, Taggart perfectly understood what he would see when their squad descended to the ground.

As he feared, the streets of Los Angeles would honor any horror movie. But now it was not a movie. Carefully advancing between abandoned panicked population of cars, Taggart realized that now hide information about Argent D'Nur and that connected with it, just will not succeed. Earth is not Mars, and even if the portal is one (what Flynn doubted), then it would be extremely difficult to hide the death of the whole city. However, not his, lieutenant, mind is, how the government will explain to people the nature of the portals to Hell. Now the main thing is to close this portal, or, if it fails, enter the portal and, having destroyed the maximum number of demons, make the place inaccessible. For this, the group was given a "backpack of happiness" - a five kiloton portable nuclear bomb. In principle, it was possible to throw a bomb at the gate itself, thereby avoiding traveling to Hell, but there were two arguments. First, it is not a fact that the input point of the portal coincides with the output. According to Todt, some portals do not differ in accuracy, and work with an accuracy of up to five kilometers.

Secondly, there was no information about the ability of the portal to transfer energy. So there was no guarantee that with an explosion on that side, the portal would not transfer the shock wave and the damaging factors associated with it to the Earth. Therefore, the soldiers were instructed before the explosion of the nuclear backpack to damage the portal with ordinary explosives placed on a timer.  
Suddenly, Taggart's attention was attracted by shots. Muffled by urban buildings, they nevertheless forced the captain to take shelter behind the nearest car.

\- Link, find out where the shooting is from!

The named fighter instantly deployed a hacking complex, connected to the surviving urban tracking systems, simultaneously updating information from satellites and the combat network of the local headquarters.

\- Sir, - the cyberwar specialist addressed the commander, - this is mobile infantry. 112th Regiment, 3rd Company, 2nd Platoon... or rather, what was left of them. Judging by the cameras, there are between seven and fifteen people who are holding defenses in the police station. Five Knights and Baron are moving on them, not counting small things. And three more Barons, and seven Knights go in their direction.

\- Fly, - Grimm entered the conversation, giving to his friends Taggart as a reinforcement, - four Barons and a dozen Knights are a serious figure even for us. They will be crushed.

Taggart understood that. The fact that the jarheads are still holding themselves against the monsters speaks either of great success, or of a capable commander, or of both factors together. But "Reaper" is right - in a battle with such a number of demons to survive one chance per million, especially unprepared soldiers. Those who survived on Mars are lucky - they immediately come across these monsters - and they could be put up with a cross. The infantrymen met them unprepared, both materially and morally. Therefore, they had almost no chance to survive in the battle against the Barons and Knights.

On the other hand, it was a great chance to slip past. The infantry provided Taggart with a great service. Other demons will soon catch up with the sounds of shooting, which means that his squad will not have to break through the crowd of horny degenerates spitting plasma. And in this way they will have much more chances to successfully complete the task. "Mission first of all" - it seems that they were told this in the training camp.

But at this moment in the head of Taggart flashed an episode from his life. The moment because of which he was here. Colombia. Shooting local territorialis. Short fight. Demotion. Then he, too, should pass by. And now the situation was different. But still something did not hold the captain in place. Apparently, from the naive boy, who seemed to be reborn under the blows of fate, there was much more left than Flynn himself believed. With a short smile, Taggart spoke into the microphone:

\- Listen up,platoon! Three blocks away from us, Mobile Infantry forces were seen leading a battle with significant enemy forces. Without us, these guys are doomed. Here's how we do...


	4. Hell on Earth Ch 2

\- Well, now we're surely fucked up, - thought flashed through Harper's head when his newfound rifle, instead of another shot, gave out a dry click.

The lieutenant did not doubt that the rest would be short, but the fact that the aliens decided to declare in their numbers in such numbers was not in his plans. Jack believed that the enemy, as usual, would send a group of imps forward, as they began to call among themselves jumpy, monkey-like monsters soldiers. The imps bind the soldiers to battle, and in the meantime, stronger enemies are pulled up, and the beating begins. The whole point of Harper's plan was that the imps, approaching the police building, would inevitably run into either the laid mines, or the fire of his boys. In any case, the soldiers would have knocked out the imps fast enough and managed to escape, mined the building before leaving.

But the demons had their own plans. A new enemy entered the battle, who was quickly dubbed the Summoner. Not only did the new species know how to summon other demons, it also moved not in the usual way, but teleported to short distances. Having thus overcome the separated minefields, three Summoners opened the portals and called the Pinkies. From that moment on, the fun began, called a short-circuit with a hard-to-kill, albeit blunt opponent. Pinky soon enough went back to hell, catching a lethal dose of bullets from the soldiers. But the Summoners continued their hellish work, exposing two called for each killed person. And, by that time, when Harper's platoon had managed to knock down nimble opponents, catching at the exit points, demons from the whole area had run to the battlefield. The first went possessed, literally with their bodies breaking the way through the minefields. And then more serious monsters, the Barons and Knights of Hell, passed into the passage.

At that moment, Harper realized that he had been fingered around like a last sucker. And now his subordinates will have to pay for his mistake. Nevertheless, the platoon still represented a serious force. One by one, three Hellknights collapsed on the broken pavement, almost immediately disappearing in flames of fire. Soon Harper was able to catch the lingering Baron, and, having interrupted his leg with a bullet in the area of the knee joint, with two shots smashed his skull. The death of large enemies, it seemed, only mocked the demons, who, spitting on tricks, burst into the main entrance. Soon, they were joined by several flying monsters that looked like a rotten tomato, and the lieutenant had to switch to new targets - the air attack performed by the newcomers was no less effective than the passage of the human's gunships. Although, unlike human creations, these freaks died after a couple of successful hits from a sniper rifle or a long burst from a light machine gun.

But small successes did not greatly influence the overall picture. Either one or another soldier with a death cry fell, struck by a well-wounded plasma shot, the impact of a broken creature's claws or a jet of acid. And the fact that the attackers had already filled with blood the whole space in front of the police station did not play any role. It seemed that the enemy was completely unfamiliar with a sense of self-preservation and such a thing as the maximum allowable loss. And since the arrival of the Barons and Knights, the situation has become quite deplorable.

Harper was distracted by the distressing howl from giving orders and examining the whole situation. In obedience to the instincts, the lieutenant literally jumped straight from the prone position to the side of his position, and, rising to a knee, rolled the edge of the shotgun from his back. In time - unknown as a pair of devils leaked onto the roof already rushed straight at him, making sounds that an ungreased sawmill would envy. However, this did not prevent Jack from catching one of the bodies sprawled in the jump and pulling the trigger.

The shot was successful. The charge of grapeshot slashed at the legs of the stranger, completely tearing off one of them and seriously slashing the other. And after a few seconds, the shot charge overtook the second imp that had landed, taking down half of its head. Death came instantly, and the body of the monster disappeared in a flash of fire.

\- Wow, what a useful thing in the household, - thought the lieutenent, changing the shells in the supershotgun and at the same time, sliding carefully, approaching the legless imp.

It looks like the enemy, after amputation, had no more thoughts about the attack. The creature only slowly crawled off to the curb, howling mournfully on one note. An amazingly thick scarlet blood gushing from the stump of the fountain, generously filling the concrete roof. Jack did not feel sorry for the monster - he saw too much these days to believe that these ugly creatures of another world are capable of something other than murder. To him, they were beasts driven by instincts only. So the lieutenant did not hesitate. Confidently but carefully reaching the howling monster, Jack Harper put a metal boot up his back, and putting a hem to the ugly back of his head, pulled the trigger again.

\- Lieutenant, sir! - the voice of Eriks, a staff engineer of the group, rang in the headset, - I managed to hack the police cameras. And I have bad news. Our shooting attracted the attention of almost the entire neighborhood. To a site large forces of newcomers!

The voice of a very green fighter was on the verge of hysteria. It could be understood - the guy came into the army immediately after the university, having received a position corresponding to his specialization. And the first battle in which he participates turns into hell, in thedirect sense of the word.

However, the lieutenant himself understood that if they did not immediately leave the building, they would soon become food for the demons. And, to his displeasure, Harper saw only two options - go for a breakthrough or wait for a miracle. In miracles, Jack has forgotten to believe in wonders in Colombia, so there is little choice for his men.

But, as practice has shown, miracles rarely, but happen. In this case, the miracle was expressed in the platoon of Orbiltal Froptroopers, who unexpectedly hit the flank of the monsters. Frozen in surprise, Harper watched, fascinated, at this symphony of destruction. Here is one, pushing away from a slide of rubble, in a jump, hit a burst at the head of one of the Hellknights, tearing it into pieces. The other, frozen for a second, launched a rocket from a grenade launcher, smashing several tight ipms into pieces. Baron of Hell died: one of the ODTs cut one of his knees with a grenade from a grenade launcher, and when the monster, roaring with pain, fell on his knees, tore off his horn and smashed his chin. The last sight sobered the lieutenant. Taking himself in hand, he shouted into the microphone of a bewildered platoon:

\- What the hell are you waiting for?! OPEN FIRE!

And the first one executed his own command, cutting off a trifle from a submachine gun that continued to arrive ...

\- Who is the leader? - asked the trooper who entered the blood-filled lobby, stamping his legs heavily.

\- Second Lieutenant Harper, - Jack rose, - the acting commander of the third company of the one-hundred and twelfth mobile infantry regiment.

\- Captain Flynn Taggart. The first company of the second regiment of the Orbital Droptrooper Corps. At ease, Lieutenant, - Fly said with a hand, noticing Harper picked up, - sit down.

The lieutenant sat down relieved.

\- Listen, Lieutenant, - Taggart crouched on his heels. With his armor, the facial armor plate turned out to be right on the level of Jack's face, - I will say straight - the situation is grave. While it is possible to keep the enemy within the suburbs, but they are becoming more and more, and soon they will break through the environment. It will happen, most likely, in two days. So several detachments were sent to the city with the aim of blowing up the portal from which these creatures climb. We are one of these groups.

\- Sir, - one of the infantry soldiers got up, - tell me, please, this hell... is it just here?"

Hope shone in the eyes of the young warrior. Probably, the guy hopes that his relatives, friends and girlfriend alive. Harper himself did not care about his father, and he answered him in return. And mom ... mom was gone when he was five. And the only person he could call a friend, now caused only disgust in his soul.

\- No, men, - the captain disappointed the soldier, - this is happening all over the world. And believe me. Los Angeles is not the worst scenario. And so that these scenarios do not repeat here, - for persuasiveness, the droptrooper jabbed an armored leg at the bloodied floor, - we need your help.

Harper sighed to himself. That was what he was afraid of.

\- You want us to distract them, right?

\- Yes, - the ODT nodded, - but not distract them, but lead them away from this zone, - Taggart pointed his finger at the area on the unfolded map, - according to the satellites, the places around have become impassable due to destruction. The closest passage is almost from the opposite end. One Cyberdemon or the Duke of Hell (rem. non-augmented version of Cyberdemon) is able to keep us in this place until reinforcements arrive, and then we will just be crushed.

\- But even if we can lead most of the retinue away, - Jack reasoned reasonably, - the guards are unlikely to move.

\- We'll take care of them, - Flynn said. - The main thing is for the rest to go far enough and not be able to come to them for help.

Jack began to think. If the detachment moves quickly, almost all the surrounding forces can be pulled over. But then the fate of the company will be unenviable. Most likely, they were waiting for death, from which they have so far successfully left. Well, as they say, At length the fox is brought to the furrier.

\- Captain, - Harper said, looking up, - we can pull off the enemy, but we will need some help.

\- What kind of?

\- First, explosives and mines, - the lieutenant began to enumerate, - second, it would be nice to find a transport, preferably armored. And thirdly, we need a connection with the gunners - when we pull the enemy away from the point, we will need to quickly thin it out. Yes, and it would be nice to survive.

-We will give you mines and explosives, - Taggart nodded, giving the order with a wave of his hand, - I can't help you with transport, sorry, we are stamping ourselves on foot. Try to get hold of on the way - probably on the streets there are several serviceable. It is more difficult with communication - we have a communication complex, and it is possible to contact with gunners from it. But it works in combination with a battlesuit, and apart from it, unfortunately, no.

\- Sir, - Link said, - there is a communication tower five kilometers north. Her amplifiers should be enough to go on the air and cause strike. In any case, the place for defense is convenient, approaches to the approaches to the tower are viewed, and you will definitely hold on for a while.

The last phrase was not very encouraging, but the choice was small. So the lieutenant decided to go on foot to the side of the tower, trying to get transport on the way. That's what he said to the droptrooper.

\- Okay, - Taggart nodded, - then let's get started. Attention, troopers! - he turned to his men, - we give the infantry half of everything that explodes, except for grenades and shells. I take fifteen minutes to everything, after which we are going and leaving. MOVE!

The droptroopers, of course, grumbled, complaining about a "rip-off", but they executed the order. In addition, everyone understood that in the near future, mobile infantry would have to break through to the tower with a horde of angry devils on the tail, so that the ammunition was shared. Some fighters, spitting on the ban, sneakly passed a pair of fragmentation or incendiary grenades to the comrades, with instructions to "use it for sure." Anyway, in due time everyone was assembled and ready to go out, and after a minute, only the spent cartridges on the floor, bits of first aid kits and blood leaks reminded that there was an active battle. And none of those present found out that five minutes later the first imps slowly, cautiously, entered the building. For three long minutes the guests from Hell went in search of people, and when they did not find them, they roared in disappointment and rushed on the trail of the leaving infantrymen. The hellish race with death continued.

To say that Harper was lucky is to greatly underestimate. Jack himself later thought that fate probably still existed, because it was worth a lot to pass through the half-ruined city on civilian buses and minivans, without ever encountering irresistible blockages. But to do this, having a horde of bloodthirsty monsters behind him, who had strayed from almost the whole quarter, was something of a fantasy.  
However, the squad was lucky - got with minimal losses. Five were killed in the closing car, which unsuccessfully hit by the Revenant volley. The skeleton unexpectedly jumped out from around the bend and after a couple of seconds was literally torn to shreds by the continuous fire of the infantrymen, but still managed to defuse the shoulder rocket launchers.

Finally, the square appeared. The cars, braking sharply, stopped, creating a small congestion, and the soldiers, like peas, poured out of traffic. Harper, looking around, grunted rather — the place was, from a defense standpoint, excellent. The tower stood on the outskirts, and to get to the entrance, it was necessary to overcome two or three hundred meters under heavy fire. Leaving a few people to mine approaches, he and the rest of the people went to inspect the building of the TV tower.

As it turned out, there were already people in the communication center ...


	5. Hell on Earth Ch 3

The sound of the shot indoors sounded completely unexpected for the soldiers, but the reflexes of the fighters did their job - the squad instantly took cover and began to look around, figuring out where they were shot from. However, it became clear soon enough, albeit in a very extraordinary way - a dull thud and a swearing voice it made it clear that the watchman was most likely just lost nerves.

\- Hey there! - a voice came from the depths of the building, - come in, there are only humans here!

\- Well, - thought Jack, - it seems these men have problems with discipline, or it's just a consolidated detachment gathered who has not decided on a subordination.

Harper turned out to be right - a picture of a rare variety of troops opened up to the incoming lieutenant and his comrades: from police and infantry to mobile infantry and tank crews. There was even an attractive blonde woman pilot with stripes of a sergeant of army aviation.

\- Lieutenant, - the infantry man stepped forward, - Warrant Officer Miles, senior in rank among those who present.

\- Second Lieutenant Harper, - said Jack, - what's the situation? Anyone injured?

\- it's quiet for now, sir, - said Miles, - we sit here for almost a day. There are about forty of us, mostly wounded. Twenty people are capable of holding a weapon in their hands, but only seven of them are fully combat-ready.

Harper looked at the audience more closely. Indeed, there were no injured people in the room, and the injuries were mostly of moderate severity. Heavy injured in such battles did not live for a long time, and in such conditions nobody considered light wounds. Against their background, Harper's fighters looked much better.

\- Then I have unpleasant news, - the lieutenant "warmed" the warrant officer, - we have demons on our tail. While we were getting there, we pulled the monsters off of a couple of blocks. I hope that the radio station works well, otherwise we can only heroically die. But, - Jack raised his voice, - there is some good news. While we are distracting the "guests" to ourselves, the ODTC team will go for a breakthrough and destroy the portal. So, if everything goes according to plan, the enemy will not have reinforcements. Nor will there be a nuclear bombardment of the city.

The prospect of fighting off angry monsters, of course, did not attract anyone, but the soldiers rejoiced at the news that the command had found a way to deal with the threat without resorting to atomic bombing. In the troops, apparently, almost from the first day there were rumors that they were used as bait to pull the demons in one place and slam at once. So even a ghostly, but the chance to get out alive from Los-Angeles (it's quiet funny - the city of Angels became Hell's branch) raised the fighting spirit of the warriors. The soldiers got up, once again began to check the weapon, shared ammunition - the working fuss began. Harper and Miles were in charge of general defense coordination, sending the five most familiar soldiers with radio equipment to contact the command. A couple of practical communications tips were given by a flyer who introduced herself as Eva Corr. After some hesitation, she was also sent to the radio operator team.

\- They're coming, - the signal from the sentry sent Harper away, - there's a whole horde of them, coming from the east and northeast, heap, but stretched.

\- Copy that," once again thanking the fate that gave him such a knowledgeable specialist in electronics, Harper switched to a common channel, - Attention, ladies and gentlemen. A festive procession is moving on us. We have to slow down the guests until our guys agree on the delivery of the presents. UNDERSTOOD?!

\- Sir, yes, sir! - People snapped together. Harper grinned - such an introductory manner often set people up in a positive way, which was important. Especially when a mob of evil aliens tear you apart.

\- Just like playing the old shooters, - Jack thought for some reason, climbing to the roof with a rifle at the ready, - one of those in which they didn't bother much with the plot.

_Two hours later. Army headquarters of US territorial troops. Suburb of Los- Angeles._

In the headquarters reigned bustle. Reports poured from the horn of plenty. General McCarthy managed to curse everyone a thousand times - stupid command, which did not give him a couple of tactical atomic munitions, officers who broke off during the years of routine and could not adequately respond to the rapidly changing situation and, finally, himself, because he did not bother time to retire and now instead of resting somewhere on the banks of Miami forced to command this bedlam. Of course, the general did not allow his emotions to spill out, outwardly remaining calm as a rock in the middle of the raging ocean of the headquarters.

\- General, sir! - another radio operator, distracted the general from outside thoughts, - we have ... an unusual incoming signal.

\- Details! - McCarthy said shortly.

\- The call goes on the civil frequency of the local radio station, - the signalman reported, - long waves of high power. They are transmitting valid army codes. Someone second lieutenant Harper is requesting artillery support.

\- Well, look at this, - the general thought vexedly, - another officer who could not hit the task entrusted on his own, calls for the help of the "god of war".

-And yet, sir, - the signalman added suddenly, - he says he pulled most of the enemy forces in his area over to let Taggart's group go.

McCarthy's head seemed to click a switch. Taggart - the commander of one of the groups of droptroopers, who went to eliminate the breakthrough, which means that all requests from him should be executed immediately. And if this lieutenant is now holding all the demons, so that Taggart would break through to the portal through which these creatures climb, it was definitely worth helping him.

\- So, - the general snapped, - call up the first through fourth artillery batteries and the MLRS battery. Spend artillery on the coordinates indicated by the lieutenant. And send a VTOL link with cover to evacuate the fighters.

\- Yes, sir, - the signalman reported, and, turning in the radio station, he began dictating the order to the artillery men.

Probably never before the screech of shells falling in the immediate vicinity did not bring people such happiness. The music of death, falling from the heavens onto the heads of the aliens, seemed to personify hope, joy from the sight of enemies being thrown, and relief from the fact that this hell will soon end, you just have to hold on a little longer.

Two hours ... All who survived in this battle remembered these one hundred and twenty minutes for ages. Only during the first hour, the number of soldiers, despite all the tricks, has been halved. The demons seemed to have forgotten that they were mortal, and they crawled right through the mines and explosions, disregarding losses and spitting on all tactics. Undermined explosive packs tore the attackers to shreds, two heavy machine guns with steel rain of bullets were mowing down entire rows of demons. Shots from shotguns were waiting for suitable ones almost point-blank - it turned out that buckshots or a shotgun slug were cutting small monsters not worse than an assault rifle burst. But people also suffered losses. A carelessly looking out fighter with a rolled up head gets a fireball from an imp. A hit on a tangent, but for a soldier, there is no difference - a man flashes like a match, announcing the building with hellish screams of pain that a single shot quickly stops - the fighter hiding next to him has done his last service. After a few minutes, a volley of Revenant missiles flies through the window and explodes in the room, carrying three more to the bloody scraps. The erupted Pinky has time for a second before his own death to bite off the head of a soldier who has not casually put on a helmet. However, he would hardly have saved him from the monster's jaws weighing a quarter of a ton.

Artillery barrage arrived in time. The back rows of the demons just caught up with the main ones, and now they were pushing from behind, compacting the horde that was already running close together. And in this crowd, which already seemed to just crush people in numbers, the first shells of barreled and rocket artillery fell. The infernal hellish cocktail from high-explosive, thermobaric and cluster shells in a matter of minutes turned the square into a bloody mess, as if descended from the canvas of a mad battle artist. The rest of the demons were finished off by the soldiers on their own, and they didn't particularly resist, especially after the death of most of the big monsters.

Harper did not understand what was then found. He, as if not believing that everything was over, went down to the first floor and, ignoring the surprised looks and even shouts, went out into the street. Once a terrible, but clearly created by the people of the area was now a ... slaughter. Going down the stairs, Jack melancholy noted how his ankle-deep legs sank into blood, bits and pieces of the slain.

\- "Wow, - thought the lieutenant, - it seems that I just now finally understood that Hell had come to Earth. And I walk on my own land, knee-deep in the dead."

For some reason, Harper felt very bright in his heart from the awareness of this, in fact, simple truth. So he did not feel since he joined the army. Suddenly I really wanted to sing something glorious and sublime. But Jack didn't like music very much, so he knew only one song. And, stomping on the bloody gruel and not noticing that behind him, lining up a wedge, the surviving fighters of his platoon go, he first quietly, and then louder began to whistle one old, but famous melody, not noticing how the other fighters picked it up. It is not known how long this crazy march continued across the lake of meat. He was interrupted by wheezing with roaring notes. The soldiers, as if throwing off the stupor, began frantically led by rifles, trying to understand where the enemy is. All but Harper. The lieutenant, having walked a couple of steps forward, saw its source.

_(from author: Harper whistles the Colonel Bogey March)_

Cyberdemon. Wounded. Moreover, it was exactly Cyberdemon, since the crippled body, devoid of the lower part of the torso, completely of the right hand and the left hand, bore traces of augmentation. Harper approached, staring into the monster's only remaining eye. As if he understood who was in front of him, he began to growl threateningly, although in his position it looked frankly pitiful.

\- You can feel pain too, huh? - lieutenant snickered, - I wonder if you, kill all those different from you because of instincts, or are we the only species that you didn't like?

The monster clapped its teeth, as if trying to get the infantryman. Naturally, in vain - Jack was not mad enough to approach a living demon at arm's length.

\- You know what, - Harper sat down, realizing that the cyberdemon would not reach him with all his desire, - I really don't care about your motives. You killed civilians, you killed our brothers on arms. How many did you kill, huh? Do not trouble yourself with an answer, - Harper smiled under his helmet, - what matters is that you could not kill these people, - he circled his hand around the infantrymen, - such as you didn't kill them yesterday, the day before yesterday and during the day of the invasion. But now you are lying here in the dirt and pieces of your fellows. And you know, this is wonderful, because one day we will come to your world and arrange the same on the ruins of your cities. We did not want a fight with you, but if you want a war of annihilation, you will get it. Guys! - lieutenant addressed to fighters, - who had a grenade or explosives left?

\- I have one, - one of the troopers handed him a bar with the detonator already inserted, - I didn't want to be taken prisoner by these bastards, - the fighter answered Harper's mute question.

The cyberdemon, it seemed, understood perfectly well what people had gathered to do with it, and, roaring fiercely and viciously ... crawled towards the people, dragging guts and clapping their teeth in anger.

\- What, you still want to kill us? - Jack grinned, exposing the delay time on the detonator, - others tried too and didn't work out. You freaks, probably, have no idea, but people like us often walk under death. And you know, you horned grek, that we tell her, eh? NOT TODAY! - lieutenant barked, activating the detonator and hurling explosives right into the gaping mouth. At the same time, all the soldiers, without saying a word, rushed from the doomed monster.

Five seconds later, an explosion rang out, twisting the body of an alien, and so tormented by earthly weapons. Harper didn't check - even a demon couldn't survive after this.

\- Lieutenant, - said Warrant Officer Miles, - we've got a message from the pilots. Evacuation will be in five minutes.

\- OK, Miles, - Harper nodded, - tell them that the landing zone has been cleaned.

\- Yes, sir.

Exactly five minutes later a whistling sound was heard in the sky, and several VTOL aircraft flew out from behind the nearest houses. The pair remained circling in the air, the rest, falling, landed in the square. The surviving fighters began to pull out of the building, many carrying the wounded.

\- Greetings, Lieutenant, - the first pilot greeted Harper, - holy shit, you gave them hell, men. I thought there'll be more of you.

\- There are a lot of ours perished there, - Jack answered laconically, he didn't want to talk about this topic.

\- I understand, - the pilot nodded, - we were able to pull out a few. All of Los Angeles was a goddamn trap. You are the largest group I've seen. And the most productive, - he added, looking at the blood-drenched square.

\- Say thanks to the artillery for that, - Jack muttered, watching the soldiers load, - our merit is small.

\- You're not right, lieutenant, as for me, - the pilot shook his head, - they say you were kept there for several hours until command could reach the artillery strike, - the pilot took out a pack and lit it, - and the artillery without you would hit the squares and would hardly wipe out all reptiles!

\- Maybe you're right, - said Harper - there was a reason, in the words of the flyer, - listen, man, do you have a cigarette?

\- Yeah, of course! - pilot smiled, - for the good person it is not a pity. Hold on, infantry man!

Jack took a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it with a lighter. Acrid smoke slipped into the lungs, forcing him to cough, but at the same time a pleasant heaviness in combination with a slight dizziness filled the body.

\- First time, right? - pilot said knowingly, - well, welcome to the smokers club. Just do not smoke before the fight - it will be hard to run.

\- Okay, I will, - coughing, Harper croaked, dragging on again.

The lieutenant managed to finish a cigarette while loading was going on. Entering the ramp into the filled compartment, he looked around the square for the last time, and flicked the goby overboard. The VTOL aircraft took the remains of his company away from the city. But the flywheel of war only gained momentum. The war, which turned out to be the most devastating in the history of mankind and remained so for many years.


	6. Hell on Earth Ch 4a

_Two weeks later. Earth's orbit._

They are late. Late to do their duty. So much money and so many years of preparation has been spent for this moment. And here it is, in the orbit of the Earth, which was attacked.

Danger did not come from space in the form of ships of the protean, bristling with beam guns, the principle of which people can't understand, and protected by indestructible kinetic shields. The war came as if from beyond the brink of the universe, suddenly embodying in the enemies of people all the worst nightmares.

And the fleet ... did not have time. How did it happen that at this very moment the closest military units were far from the Earth? No one knows. In fact, this should not be - the Second Fleet, which had the unflattering nickname "Home Guard", always covers the homeplanet of humanity. And how did it happen that the entire fleet went to reinforce others? no one knows. In any case, when the signal came about the attack on Earth, its fleet was the closest to the cradle of mankind. And yet I had to go more than two weeks... to catch on arrival a huge meat grinder. Frames from the surface of the Earth are still twisted around the ships, igniting hatred of the invaders. And so they went into orbit. Somewhere there, hundreds of soldiers die every second. And now he needs to help them, let him be cursed after that.

Rear Admiral Ender Wiggin made the decision. Turning on the intercom, the commander of the Third Flotilla, selecting the captains channel, commanded:

\- This is Rear Admiral Ender Wiggin. Flotilla, report readiness.

Waiting for the report of his subordinates, the naval commander, who would later be called different, not very pleasant nicknames, pulled one very important card out of his pocket. By inserting it into the appropriate slot, he, following the requests of the interface, put his hand to scan, analyze the blood, scanned the retina, and finally entered a complex alphanumeric code, which he received before leaving and memorized. Any recording of this code, be it paper or electronic document, was strictly forbidden. Punishment for violation was one thing - dismissal with a wolf ticket, regardless of position. After pressing the confirmation button after the procedures, he exhaled - Rubicon was transferred. Now all the captains of the ships from the cruiser inclusive have made the same procedures. The difference was that their computers did not immediately have commands, but went into standby mode, waiting for a confirmation signal from the flagship. And now the rear admiral, by pressing another series of buttons, issued this signal. Now there is certainly no turning back.

\- Flotilla, listen to my command, - said Ender, quietly but clearly, - I order an orbital strike on the following targets ...

The flotilla came into motion. The captains understood that, having executed the order, they, most likely, would receive public shame and dismissal from the fleet. The only thing is that the Home was more expensive, even if now this house will be burned in places with fire from their ships.

The command that the Rear Admiral and the space commanders had filed was not intended for guns. Codes entered by persons with the appropriate tolerance, removed the lock from the most terrible weapons, invented by mankind. From thermonuclear warheads. Of course, the admiral did not have the authority, and therefore the admission to use the most powerful charges, but what was in his fleet was more than enough for his idea.

When the ships arrived in the solar system, the demons had already managed to defeat most of the poorly trained and poorly armed African and Arab armies. And if in Europe, China, Russia and other developed countries, the monster attack stalled, in the Middle East only a few military bases of the Alliance remained islands of calm, but they were either mostly evacuated or crushed by the onslaught of attacking monsters. And the monsters began, in addition to the offensive, to strengthen the bridgehead, defending the strange kind of breaks through which they received reinforcements. It got to the point that the advancing horde of demons in Africa was visible from space almost with the naked eye. And to quickly destroy the horde of monsters, going to the north and east, it was only way to stop it.

Launch shafts in the bow and sides of the ships opened, and dozens of space-to-surface missiles rushed to Earth, driven by on-board computers, an inertial navigation system, and in some cases corrected from the ships. A few minutes later, on the background of the earth's surface, several large clusters of fireballs could be seen - the launched rockets entered the atmosphere. Fortunately, nobody tried to knock them down - there was no one to shoot down, and the orbital forces of the missile defense could not react - everything happened too fast.

\- Hit! - Reported one of the operators on the bridge.

Wiggin turned his gaze to the overview screen. And here, and there on the surface of the planet flashed bright lights, each of which was in fact a nuclear explosion of different power. At the same time, red dots flashed on the neighboring screen, marking on the map of the affected area and preliminary predictions of radioactive fallout after the explosion.

After ten minutes, the last mark appeared on the screens.

\- Sir, - the operator turned to Ender, - the enemy was bombarded successfully, all the missiles reached the calculated coordinates. The estimated destruction of the enemy is from eighty to one hundred percent.

Nodding his head to the operator, the naval commander suddenly thought that it would be nice to slightly cheer on his subordinates. There were a lot of trials ahead, the rear admiral was probably waiting for the tribunal, so the captains should feel that they had executed an ambiguous, but correct and necessary order.

\- Officers, - Wiggin got up, turning on the broadcast on the ships, - you fulfilled my order, and did it well. I understand you - it is hard for you to strike at your own planet, but know that with this attack you destroyed the biggest invasion armies, already ready for a campaign in other countries. Know - you are not the executioners of the Earth, you are her saviors! And may you have had the third time in history to use nuclear weapons in a war, you saved our home world from being destroyed by these creatures from nightmares. Thank you for your service!

\- I serve the Alliance and Humankind! - barked a chorus of voices in the speakers.

Wiggin sank into a chair and continued to give orders.

\- Prepare the aircrafts. Load heavy weapons on heavy and medium vehicles. Light provide cover. Also, take down all the paratroopers and mobile infantry that we have. Highlight accompaniment Shuttles. Aviation on arrival will be available to ground colleagues. Do not return to carriers, so take the maximum payload. Ships after the release of aviation to disperse and prepare to work non-nuclear charges on request from the planet.

\- So that's it,- thought Ender. At this moment he did everything he could. Now it remains only to wait for the proceedings on the fact of unauthorized departure from the post and the use of weapons of mass destruction. And the fact that the trial will be, he had no doubt.

_From the encyclopedia of military history._

_The Wiggin__'s__ Gambit is the first ever orbital bombardment in history and the third ever combat use of nuclear weapons by order of Rear Admiral E. Wiggin during the Doomsday. The result of the massive use of nuclear weapons was the destruction of the two largest groups of demons at the time and the steady radiation contamination of the central regions of Africa and the Middle East. Also accompanying victims, according to various estimates, were from five to fifteen million people, mostly civilians. Accurate counting of those killed by nuclear weapons is not possible due to the terror tactics used by the demons ..._


	7. Hell on Earth Ch 4

_Earth orbit. Carrier "Nimitz". 30 minutes after a nuclear strike._

Manfred Richthofen, despite his surname, did not seek to join the army, much less in the Space Fleet. And certainly, And certainly, he did not want to associate life with aerospace fighters, where even in peacetime the death rate was higher than in most divisions. Space does not forgive mistakes, especially if you fly in a shell about fifteen meters in length. The dreams of a native of Germany were so peaceful, and the most violent thought for him was how to cut the sausage for breakfast more comfortably. At eighteen of his years, he mentally imagined how he would first study financially, and then, after finding work in some large company, by the age of thirty or forty he would become an exemplary family man and a respected person. And, given his natural pedantry and perseverance, he had every chance of it.

But as they say, if you want to mock the gods, tell them about your plans. In the case of Manfred, this was a graduation from school with a drunken fight that ensued. And nothing would have happened if Richthoffen had not personally sent one of the participants of the fight to the hospital bed. Which turned out to be either a relative or just a good friend of the rector of one of the best universities in Germany, and he was a friend of several other influential personalities. What he did, Manfred realized when his grandfather had a completely calm voice that could not be combined with fury in his eyes, told him that now he was waiting for the young man and where the way was now closed to him. And then frightened, pale as death from the opened prospects of the scion of Richthoffen, the highest indication of the patriarch of the family was sent to the army, where the grandfather, the old warrior, had his own strings. Of course, with the order to dump away from the Earth, so that the people to his return had time to forget about its existence. The gods, looking at it, giggling anticipatory, feeling the approach of an excellent performance.

The second surprise was waiting for Richthoffen in the military commandant's office. Manfred, who still hates the cosmos in general, and the fleet, as its component, would never have enrolled in such troops. But it was necessary to dump from the Earth, and for this there were two ways - fleet or mobile troops. But the trouble was that in the specific commandant's office the recruitment to the "land" part of the troops was over, but in the navy, on the contrary, there was a shortage of personnel. And Richthoffen, who had, besides, excellent health, with a light hand, the military commissar was recorded in the fleet. Moreover, as a person with a magnificent reaction, he was sent precisely to the troops that he hated with fierce hatred - aerospace forces. The gods no longer laughed - they laughed.

Much later, Richthofen learned that the whole story, with the exception of a fight, was entirely created by his grandfather, who played on the inadequate state of his grandson, inspired him what was required. But that was later. At the same time, the cadet Richthofen, as evil as hell, stood opposite the passage and was desperately thinking about how to retreat from such an unenviable fate. In the end, he decided to wait a bit, to fill up the tests and write a report on the transfer to the infantry or tank troops. And with his usual thoroughness he began to pursue his goal. And it would have worked, didn't play one circumstance against him - the worst were expelled for good, without the possibility of transfer. With the wording "a person who is difficult to learn." But it was already a cross not only on the military, but also on the civil career. So Richthofen deceived himself. But then he was lucky (well, or the gods decided to extend the show) - he found out about this unwritten rule, accidentally overhearing a conversation between two of his classmates, who laughed at the fact that "they finally deduct this idiot Manfred, who dishonors our school." So the young German, having learned that his plans to dump from the army would have a very strong impact on civilian life, sharply attacked his studies, and, to the surprise of the whole school, including teachers, was in the top ten in the exams. And the facial expressions of classmates so pleased the young man that he decided to wait half a year with the translation in order to show the whole school who is the cleverest and coolest here. The gods rather smiled - the naive little man fell into a trap.

Half a year has passed. Richthoffen finished the first course, and, as usual, after passing the exams, they were lined up, and, congratulating on the end of their first year of study, they were asked if there were any who had changed their mind about studying for a pilot. The young man was sitting in the third row, immediately behind the faculty. He was fifth in the exam results and had every right to do so. And now, sitting among the best, he was thinking about getting up, and, throwing off the hated form, to dump from cosmic forces. And better from the army. But ... for some reason he did not raise his hand. The reasons why he did not come out, he still could not understand. But be that as it may, Manfred stayed in.

Finally, the cadets went to flight. And it was here that Richthoffen understood why he stayed. He liked to fly. Liked to the stupor - often Richthoffen sat up until midnight in the simulator and went the next day to classes with red eyes. But it was worth it - the damaged fighter obeyed him, like a tame one, as if being a continuation of the body. And more than once the cadet thanked the gods for making him sit in the first year. The gods smiled.

Then there was the distribution. Manfred, after reflection, chose a Nimitz carrier. Not only was this ship one of the newest, but it still didn't get out of the frontier. And now, after six months of service, the first combat operation was waiting for him. And not just anywhere, but in his homeland - the Earth. Sitting in the cab, Richthoffen detachedly thought that he did not want to go home. But alas - fate once again laughed at the plans of an arrogant earthling.

\- Roll call! - the voice of the wing commander in the helmet snatched the lieutenant from the memories.

\- Nimitz-1-2 is ready!

\- Nimitz-1-3 is ready!

\- Nimitz-1-4 is ready!

\- Nimitz-1-5 is ready! - Manfred reported.

Soon, all ten fighters reported readiness.

\- Nimitz-1, this is Nimitz-start. The corridor is free, good to take off. Good hunting, first wing.

\- Thank you, Nimitz-start, - the commander responded, - First wing, take off in pairs.

And, as if setting an example, the first two fighters rushed to the exit that was seen.

The first two are gone.

The second two are gone.

Now it's their turn. The sequence of actions worked out to automatism. His fighter is designed so that it can't take off from the launch tube, and therefore, will have to take off with engines.  
So, takeoff configuration, fighter ready for takeoff.

Both thrust levers on take-off mode - now is not up to sentiment like acceleration with a gradual increase in thrust. We are waiting for the release of the mode.

Now let go of the brakes. The speed is growing, great.

The decision point is passed. Now it is impossible to slow down. Everything is good.

There is a gap!

Two aerospace fighters, loaded like attack vehicles, flew out of the hangar of the carrier, and, taking their place in the ranks and waiting for the others, rushed to the planet, some of which already covered clouds of dust raised by nuclear explosions.

Entering the atmosphere," the voice informer told the pilot with a soft female voice. At the same time, in the left upper part of the HUD, a slowly filling red scale of the cover temperature appeared. This made it possible to control the parameters of passage through the dense layers of the atmosphere, without risking to burn from friction. The nose of the fighter was shrouded in half in half with the bluish radiance of the kinetic barrier - at such a speed the shield protected not so much from hits as from friction, taking on the load. After some time, a series of buzzer signals informed Richthoffen about the depletion of the barrier, but the matter was done - the ASF passed through the dense layers of the atmosphere. The machine immediately lost in maneuverability. It seemed that it is held in the air solely due to two powerful engines. Partly it was - the wings of the ASF were intended more for mounting underwing armament. Manfred sighed doomed - that's why he disliked this fighter, which at the moment led to the target.

SF-4 "Rapier", or ASF-4 "Rapier". In principle, this machine was not even a full-fledged fighter, but rather a stand for testing a number of ideas. The fighter was new, and, according to many notices, has overtaken its time. To begin at least with the fact that for the first time a LASER weapon was installed on starfighter. Actually, the "Rapier" was one of those jets that were designed as weapons, and not vice versa. Previously, such a machine was an atmospheric A-10 "Thunderbolt-II" of the 20th century, and now ASF was built around a laser gun. And in the end they got a fighter that the flight crew called "the joy of a suicide man", and the engineering and technical "IAS nightmare" (note by the author. Aviation engineering staff, the abbreviation moved from the 20th century). The first ones - for the almost complete absence of armor and alternative airborne weapons, and the second - for exactingness and a number of unique parts. But, despite the shortcomings, the Crystal Gun, after a series of modifications to the armament, was adopted in the amount of one hundred units.

And on this machine, which not only could not fight off in the atmosphere, it also carried three cruise missiles with overload, and Lieutenant Richthoffen flew, cursing the day when he agreed to transfer to a new technique. Who knew that the designers will do so dirty thing?! And there were two reasons reason why the fighters was loaded the as strike machines. The first one was the simplest - too many targets on the ground, and too few attack aircrafts capable of carrying such weapons, and therefore strategic missiles loaded at all that could carry them. In reasonable limits, of course - no one would hang an AS class missile on a light fighter. And the second reason lay in the Rapier's inability to resist in atmospheric combat - the cooling system of the laser weapon worked much better in space conditions, and in the atmosphere a gun gave out one shot per three minutes.

\- Attention, approaching point three.

Point three was the place where the squadron dispersed in its goals - every two ASFs took on one object. Richthoffen with a partner got an object in San Francisco. Three missiles were waiting in the wings under the wings of a fighter. The coordinates were clogged in orbit, and, in theory, they could be trivial to descend from orbit, pointing the radar or laser. And this is where the problem lay - it turns out that the aliens quite well suppress most of the terrestrial guidance systems, and in order to guide the laser, the army should have its spotter at a distance of direct visibility, which, naturally, was not there. The inertial navigation system of the missile itself, despite the almost two-century history of development, still could not lead the rocket into a circle with a diameter of two meters. And therefore, the pilots had to do what the Academy would take for madness - by going in from the sea, launching missiles in a volley from a five-kilometer distance, directing them along the laser from the board of the ASF.

Had the regular army been their adversary, Richthoffen would have said they were suicide bombers. Of course, he would have boarded the cabin and, with honor, he hoped he would have completed the task, but the probability of not returning would have been very great. The same aliens, as it turned out, successfully blocked the radar, television - yes, in general, any active guidance. Therefore, at the briefing, it was decided to use passive-guided missiles at the laser, directing them with ASF. By and large, much cheaper and more powerful planning bombs could cope with this task, only in the fleet there were none. So hang on the pylons had a much more expensive, but at the moment less effective cruise missiles.

\- The launch point is five hundred kilometers.

\- Accepted, - said the chaser.

The pilot got focused - if they didn't slow down, they would cover this distance in eight minutes. Although the launch will still have to reduce the speed to at least two Mach. In the meantime, the outlines of San Francisco, engulfed in urban fighting, began to show ahead along the coast. The city was burning. The smoke raised by the fires covered and blurred the outlines of the metropolis, forcing Richthoffen to doubt that the laser guidance would work quite effectively.

Two ASFs entered the target, gradually reducing speed - the urban development did not allow a normal aim, and it was necessary to approach almost with a snail's speed. And finally, a target appeared within the line of sight. A large blood-red funnel framed with bone-like material opened right in one of the skyscrapers, snapping out a piece of wall. From the funnel endless stream of enemies. Manfred thought that if the bombers had been bombed, say, strategic bombers, one of the main streets of the megalopolis would have turned into a bloody river. Yes, and it is unlikely that the center itself would have survived after carpet bombing. But these thoughts flashed against the background of consciousness, not at all interfering with doing the work for which he had been trained for several years.

Turn on the laser, set the target. Great, now the turntable will follow the target, which gives ASF some freedom of maneuver. Select the hanging weapon on the left panel. The missiles are the same, so the display illuminates all three pylons. Great, now the cruise missiles, synchronized with the onboard computer, will go to the target, driven by a laser, and not the IRS, as it would have happened during a normal launch.

Fifteen kilometers. The laser went into active mode, starting to highlight the target. At the same time, the amber light on the panel caught fire - launch is allowed. In one motion, Richthoffen threw the cover of the start button on the control stick, and with a force, as if it affected the power of the explosion, pressed the start button. One after another, three missiles with a roar flew toward the target, guided by a laser beam. Chaser did the same. In total, six cruise deaths were targeted. It seemed that nothing could stop the defeat of the goal.

Alas, the invaders had a flexible enough mind to link the missiles escaping from low-flying machines, and where they were going.

The air instantly turned acidic colors from the abundance of shells and rays fired from the ground. Two missiles immediately disappeared in the clouds of explosions. Another one turned off the course, damaged by an accurate hit of a ruby ray, and, frantically wagging, crashed into a skyscraper, detonating around the thirtieth floor and tearing a decent piece of glass, plastic and concrete out of the building. The fourth rocket some very accurate demon cut off the engine and part of the steering wheels, while not accidentally hooking the fuel tank. The rocket, having pecked its nose, left the course and collapsed, having exploded, in a crowd of alien troops, having done a bloody glade in the advancing ranks. Oddly enough, this is exactly what allowed the two remaining missiles to break through to the target - the density of fire decreased for a few seconds. At the last second, some desperate summoning demon teleported before the fifth rocket, managing to knock her off course. The rocket, literally ramming the demon, swerved to the side, and as a result, instead of hitting the portal, it flew into one of the building pillars. However, it no longer made the weather - the last rocket did cover fifteen kilometers, and, having flown into the portal, it disappeared. A second later, the red funnel seemed to go berserk, and, unwinding more and more, it collapsed, giving rise to a shock wave. For a building in whose wall a portal opened, this, combined with a rocket hit, turned out to be fatal - a multi-ton construction of glass and concrete with a groan, as if reluctantly, fell, burying a part of the army of monsters.

Richthoffen breathed a sigh of relief, turning off the laser pointing. At some point, the pilot thought that their entire attack would be crowned with a grand failure. It seems that fate was merciful to them today.

\- Nimitz-central, this is Nimitz-1-5, the task is completed, the target is destroyed, we are returning to the base, - the german replied.

\- Copy that, 1-5. We are waiting for you at home. Great job, guys, - said the carrier, hanging in space.

Manfred smiled - it's nice to be praised, even if it is a tribute to politeness. But he was doubly pleased with a job well done. The lieutenant was already looking forward to being greeted upon landing on board, joyfully slapping his back and congratulating him on his success. He never learned one lesson that fate tried to tell him - do not be proud of your work before it's done.

And fate did manage to surprise the pilot so much that he remembered it for a long time. A volley fired after the departing ASF, a volley from the ground did get Richthoffen's fighter. At first, the beams slashed across the casing of the jet, cutting off the projectors of the protective field, leaving the ASF unprotected. And the plasma projectiles that arrived next, instead of breaking into defense, hit the fighter, turning the right wing and the engine into a melted piece of metal. Instantly, the warning signals were screamed, the right screen was filled with notifications about damage and system failures, and the voice informer began to repeat in a female voice calmly over and over about the fire of the right engine and other critical failures.

Manfred immediately realized that he could not get to the carrier. This was the biggest problem with the use of AQI in the atmosphere - in the event of engine damage, most machines are not able to leave the planet's atmosphere, which is comparable in mass to Earth. Tritely not enough traction. But "Rapier" in this regard, put a kind of anti-record - it was almost the only AQI, which was vital to have two engines. And now, when one of them refused, the fighter was doomed to fall. So Richthoffen took perhaps the only solution in this situation.

\- Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is Nimitz-1-5! I'm hit, took critical damage. I'm leaving the course 040. Nimitz-1-6, go home, that's an order.

\- Copy that, 1-5. I carry out, - having thought, answered the follower, and, having hesitated, added, - good luck, "Baron".

"Baron". A nickname that has become a call sign. Attached to Manfred still in school, for obvious reasons. However, as one teacher said after passing the combat piloting exam, he deserved it. However, the real test of piloting Richthoffen passed now, trying to take the Rapier outside of San Francisco, so as not to collapse on urban development. To eject is not an option - Manfred was well aware that he was not an infantryman, and most likely he would not be able to survive in a city flooded with aggressive aliens.

\- Come on, motherfucker, reach out ! - the pilot cursed, trying with all his might to keep the fighter that was striving to go into the stall - asymmetric traction in combination with the pierced plane made itself felt more than we would like.

Rihtgoffen was lucky that he had some reserve height, otherwise his flight would have ended on the other side of the bay, near the business center of Berkeley. But now the situation was no better. The jet slowly but surely pulled to the ground. Passing over the Berkeley area, Richthoffen decided to go north - he did not smile to fall in the Grizzlies Bay. A few minutes of continuous struggle for the height, which the German slowly but surely lost, and the water is left behind, revealing to the pilot a beautiful view of the national parks, miraculously preserved in our time, rugged by the shores of the coast, and a distant city to which led a wide, visible even height gray stripe.

\- A highway, - the Baron guessed, - in the briefing it was mentioned about the road runway not far from Fairfield. If only to reach it - the front line passes just there.

As practice has shown, the last thought was superfluous. As the second engine, the screaming howl, threw a two-meter tongue of flame into the atmosphere and stalled.

\- Hole fucking shit! - the lieutenant swore, - what faggot designed this engine ?! If I'll survive, I'll never sit on cockpit of this fucking jet!

Oaths, however, did not make the engine stalled to work, and now the pilot's chances to safely reach the highway have fallen very much. Richthoffen even doubted whether he would cross the border of a national park, or even collapse among the trees. Thanks to the included auxiliary power unit, the ASF did not lose control, but it was still not possible to release the landing pillars - the landing gear hatch was tightly jammed. But fate, apparently, showed favor - the space vehicle had crossed the boundary of the forest and stepped over the highway. Continuingly cursing, Manfred managed to get the damaged vehicle to land. The jet landed on its belly, and, jumping up and down, slid along the road, where, sparking, it began to spin, as if in a waltz. Being as if in a centrifuge, Manfred prayed to all the gods that the ASF, which turned into a hellish spinning top, would not fly to the side of the road. After that, he probably won't survive.

The Rapier did not disappoint. But in the end he showed the vile nature. ASF, tilting, hooked the pavement with the long-suffering right half wing, finally tearing off the ground plane. From the blow, Richthoffen's head shook sharply, and the pilot, having hit his head hard, lost consciousness.


	8. Hell on Earth Ch 5

\- Hey, are you alive? - the voice that Richthofen heard as if through cotton wool was by no means angelic. With difficulty to open his eyes, the pilot, blinking, saw the soldier bending over him in light armor and with signs of distinction between the forces of territorial defense.

\- Sir, he woke up! - shouted a fighter who saw that Manfred began to move with a groan.

\- Are you OK, pilot? - Asked the sergeant who approached the cab. Manfred had already gotten out of the pilot's seat by this time and was looking longingly at what his ASF had become.

\- Rather yes, than no, - the German nodded, dismounting to the remaining wing.

\- This is good, - remarked territorial, - then you will be able to get to the transport on your own.

\- What do you mean? - did not understand Manfred. Like the demons should be pretty far away. How long did he lie?

\- A message has passed that a horde of demons is coming from San Francisco. They say that some pilots successfully bombed their key positions, and the creatures decided to go for a breakthrough in order to connect with the groups to the north. Airbase hold deemed impractical, so we leave.

\- That's it, - thought Manfred, - I never would have thought that our blow would provoke the monsters. So much so that due to the attack of the beasts will have to evacuate the airfield.  
Meanwhile, the sergeant of the rescue team someone called on the radio. And judging by the changed face of the military, he did not like the news.

\- Attention, fighters! - commander snapped, not taking care of changing the frequency on the radio, - received a new order. The newcomers are advancing much faster than expected, so most of the base's security is put into position to delay the offensive. We enter this number, and our task is to hold out for half an hour, and then retreat to the wasteland in the west, where VTOLs will pick us up. Art support will not be - the gunners piled the first in front of their own screeching. Therefore, quickly collect the eggs into a fist and go to prepare the position. Pilot, this also concerns you.

Rihthofen, who had just recovered, swearing in his native German under his breath, climbed back into the cabin of the long-suffering ASF. And the reason for his abuse was not the fact that he, the pilot, was forced to do the work of the infantry. The problem was different. More precisely, the problem was just the absence of one important item in the kit. Leaning over the side, the pilot took out a survival kit and, digging into it, drew to the light what he was very crooked about in his time. Namely, the CWS "combined weapon system", called "bastard" through people.

At the dawn of the creation of the space fleet, the military faced the question - what, in fact, arm the pilots. The question was very difficult. So much so that it was never fully resolved even in atmospheric aviation, despite the more than two centuries of aeronautics. Because it was necessary to solve two constructively incompatible tasks - to create a compact, but powerful weapon, capable of shooting in different climatic conditions and at the same time having a small weight. As a result, the result was a banal double-barreled gun with two types of ammunition - a shot for one barrel and a pistol for another. At the same time, there was no talk of any automatics - this type had a sliding bolt, as if conveying greetings from the beginning of the twentieth century. In general, the machine came out reliable, to fight with her was a good way to suicide. Therefore, most of the pilots first of all threw out the "bastard", ammunition to him and part of the survival kit, in return receiving a place for a submachine gun and a couple of shops to it. Unfortunately, Richthofen treated those few who did not change the composition of the kit to a non-standard, for which now he will have to pay. After all, he has no other weapon except for CWS and a pistol.

Here Manfred froze, as if struck by a sudden thought that came to mind. Sitting down in a chair, the pilot, with his long-memorized gestures, launched the electrical system, powering the machine from the auxiliary power unit, simultaneously turning off most of the most voracious systems. For several minutes, he clenched his fists, looked at the screen, praying to God that the test was successful. Finally, the system notified the end of the test. Immediately the screen was flooded with notifications of failures and no signal. But Manfred was more worried about the health of only three systems, because it was up to them to determine whether the tops and he would have more chances to survive.

\- Hey, pilot, what the hell are you doing there?! - the sergeant's roar was heard over his ear as when Manfred found the shots he needed on the indicators - a special case requires a special invitation?!

\- Sergeant, - highlighting the title of the person hanging over him, said the pilot, - I have the option of how to make life easier for us in the near future. Or maybe even save the lives of your fighters.

_Half an hour later._

\- They're coming, - sounded shortly in the pilot's headphones.

However, this comment could be omitted. When the aliens gather in a horde of more than a hundred heads, they abruptly forget what disguise and silent movement are. As if the crowd gives them confidence, intoxicating with a sense of collective power. Amazing resemblance to people, even if not in the most pleasant light.

"Adopted," said Richthofen, sitting in the cockpit of a de-energized car — wasting fuel at idle, in fact, the work of the APU was not part of the pilot's plans. Moreover, it could have a strong impact on their plan.

Manfred glanced at the opening view. In front of him stretched a field about two kilometers long, resting on a forest plantation. Only now, looking at the highway, the pilot realized how lucky he was. After all, one single car, abandoned on the highway, could put an end to his fate. But he was lucky - either everything was evacuated quickly, or vice versa, no one had time to leave. In any case, the strip was clean. Only a month later, the lieutenant learned that it was the duty of the military to clear the highway strip of cars during the war, and therefore the seemingly random emptiness on the highway was not accidental.

Another roar announced that their opponent would soon be in the line of sight. Indeed, in a few minutes the first monsters emerged from behind the trees, lining up in the form of wedges.

\- Wow, - the pilot thought, - they are also fighting for science. True, in their own, alien way.

\- Get ready! - snapped the sergeant.

The branch that found it was located on the flanks of it, making it the ASF center of construction. Then it seemed logical, only now Manfred was very uncomfortable. Looking at how a leisurely wave of monsters gradually began to run, trying to reach people as soon as possible, Richthofen unwittingly thought that the sergeant was right to tell the pilot that the monsters would not miss the opportunity to gut a couple of Homo sapiens and pass by are physically incapable, even if it threatens them with great losses.

\- They don't care about sacrifices, says the infantryman, both among us and among our own. Remember, fly guy - whatever they do, in the end, these creatures are driven only by thirst for blood, which means that they calmly will not pass by us. The maximum that they will do is try to surround, but in such a case we have a way of withdrawal, - he waved his hand to the APC standing nearby.

In the meantime, the monsters were approaching, forming a half-ring on the move, trying to embrace the detachment along the flanks. The pilot was nervous - of course, they had a certain amount of mines, which were also put on the flanks, but the number of opponents, combined with their attitude to the losses, made us doubt the effectiveness of the minefields. Critters, faced with mines, are more likely to be cleared by their own bodies than they will look for workarounds. After all, during this time, such a juicy human meat can manage to dump...

The first shots fired, collecting bloody tribute. But the fire of people seemed only to provoke the monsters. The attackers accelerated even more, trying to take people into the environment and then, pulling up their strength, to crush them with numbers. Alas, people in this regard had their own plans.

Grinning, Richthofen turned on the batteries and proceeded to launch the APU. Soon he will have to contribute to the fight.

_Retrospective._

\- Are you serious? - it seemed that the outlined plan made the sergeant question the pilot's mental health.

\- Absolutely, - Manfred rudely decisively, - moreover, if a large number of strangers come here, you physically need the firepower of ASF.

The plan outlined by the lieutenant was simple. The essence of it was to create an appearance of resistance, at the critical moment to break through the defenses and go to the transport in a breakthrough. Another thing is exactly how Richthofen proposed this breakthrough.

The main problem of using a laser in the atmosphere was that when fired, a beam of gamma quants began to interact with any matter, including air. And if in space, for obvious reasons, this was not a problem, then in the atmosphere this led to a sharp decrease in the effective range to four to six hundred meters, depending on the weather. The second problem was cooling. Each spacecraft, starting from the distant twentieth century, was equipped with a temperature control system, TC S. The times went on, the design changed, but the principle remained the same - liquid or air was blown over the blocks and transferred heat to the radiation panels, which also dumped heat into space in the form of infrared radiation. That's just the installation of the laser dramatically increased the requirements for heat dissipation, which means it could not do with standard heat shields - additional ones were needed.

Therefore, in preparation for the shot, additional panels were advanced, through which heat was removed. In the case of Manfred, this was precisely the problem — about forty percent of the radiation panels were damaged during landing, which made normal cooling impossible. Moreover, part of the serviceable was impossible to release due to the fact that the car was lying on its belly.

Fortunately, the designers made sure that the machine remained "toothed" even with damaged TCS. In the gun system, there was a so-called "emergency mode" in which the signal from the trigger on the joystick went around the shot blocking relay when overheated. Thus, even with the failure of the TCS weapon could make a shot. Another thing is that this could cause damage to the weapon itself from heating, but sometimes the ability to fire a volley is much more important than a failed weapon. And now it could save their lives. Manfred had only to wait until the monsters entered the defeat zone and defuse the weapon. Then they go to the resulting breakthrough, finally blowing up the ASF reactor. So-so plan, but as an alternative, there was the prospect of making its way with subversive charges, of which there were not so many. And here the squad had every chance not only to leave, but also seriously reduce the number of pursuers. That was very important, given the speed of some of them.

_End of retrospective._

\- Squad, to the APC, - the sergeant commanded, hearing the long-awaited howl of ASF. This crazy pilot still managed to fire up his fighter. However, now the sergeant doubted his own mental health, since he agreed to such an insane plan. After all, it would be possible to leave, leaving behind a mined ASF. On the other hand, the big question would be if monsters would bite on such a bait - and a small number of people would not be able to make a horde of demons slow down the advancement — dare not even notice.

Richthofen, meanwhile, was setting up systems. Without waiting for the end of the test, the pilot just in case pulled out the automatic fire extinguishing system protection machines - one devil's car will remain here, so there's no need to take care of the fire. Then the lieutenant, tearing off the seals, threw back the protective caps and pressed the emergency button for operating the laser. As ordered, an armored personnel carrier rolled up to the surviving wing, which the fighters immediately covered, the sergeant shouted to the pilot, shouting over the howling of the APU:

\- Come on flyer! Fire! 

Surprised at how this infantryman still had not lost his voice, Richthofen put his hand on the control stick and, out of habit, looking at the target through the scope, pulled the trigger.

Usually grazer leaves no trace. To see a bunch of gamma rays flying at the speed of light with the naked eye, you have to be a superman. But in this case, the trace from the use of a gamma laser was very noticeable. The air, instantly heated by radiation to a hellish temperature, melted asphalt, burning roadside grass and low bushes and literally incinerated some demons surrounding the branch. But much more aliens could only envy them - the overheated air turned the unprotected bodies of monsters into living torches, which began with a chilling wailing rush among their own, intensifying the already powerful fire. Additionally, an automatic cannon of an APC, with long bursts of mowing of the SAVED newcomers, introduced the chaos into the ranks of these seemingly fearless monsters, grinding five or even seven demons in a heap with a single projectile. However, the pilot was not in the mood to contemplate the work of his hands.

Richthofen, throwing the blister away, easily, not paying attention to the ASF body case heated to a decent temperature, rolled off the car and with a swallow jumped into the hospitably open rear doors of the APC, immediately slamming the lieutenant that had fallen on the metal floor. The conveyor pulled from the spot directly into the burning hell, trying to quickly go through the impact zone of the gamma laser. The gun was still threshing like a wound, collecting a bloody tribute from the newcomers, and the multi-ton carcass itself was rushing right through the flames, scattering the few monsters that blaze like matches. It seemed that this infernal race would have no end, but after half a minute the accelerated BTR broke out of the encirclement and, squeezing all the juice out of the engine, rushed to the evacuation point, accompanied by rare and not exact plasma clots.

\- Well, - one of the soldiers addressed the Manfred who had lain on the floor all this time, - it seems we escaped, eh?

\- Not really, - the pilot, grinned, rising, - it remains to give a farewell gift.

What is the gift, the fighter did not have time to ask. Richthofen, opening the breast pocket, pulled out of it a small box, the only button of which was covered with a protective cap. Having thrown it back, the pilot, as if saying goodbye to his ASF, waited a bit and then resolutely pressed the button.

At this time, on the abandoned Rapier, the detonator receiver, having received the signal, sent an electrical impulse, closing the circuit of the self-destruction system. Such a system was put on any new technique - the Alliance did not really want the abandoned vehicle to eventually come in the hands of some kind of "fighters for freedom and independence". Having had fourfold redundancy, the automation of the system worked as it should, closing the relay, activating an autonomous battery. This power source, unlike the others, had only one single function, which it now performed, completely discharging the neutron source of the fighter's heart - a miniature argent-reactor that fed most of the systems, including the laser gun. Uncontrolled release of neutrons led to an uncontrolled chain reaction, and the argent crystal, the heart of the reactor, destabilized, starting to decay like an avalanche-like pattern, generating an argent wave of such power that the receivers of energy simply could not absorb it. The result of this was a powerful explosion that gave rise to a wave of argent-energy, literally licked the remnants of the detachment surrounding ASF from the face of the earth, at the same time killing the very possibility of the birth of normal life on this earth in the next hundred or two hundred years.

\- Well, that's all, - said Richthofen, removing the radio detonator back, - now we can be sure that we will not be chased yet soon.

The second week of the war was drawing to a end...


	9. Hell on Earth Ch 6

May 4, 2152. The Earth. New York.

\- ... And today, on May 4th, two thousand one hundred and fifty second, mankind has proved not only that it is able to stand against the alien threat in a united front, but also that it is able to protect itself and defeat the aggressors. Our victory came to us dearly. During the year of war, humanity lost more than a billion people, mostly civilians. The monsters that came to our house did not distinguish between military and civilian. For them, as once for the Nazis, there were no laws of war. There were only those who are not worthy of the right to life. But this day, the fourth of May, two thousand one hundred and fifty-two, will go down in history as the day when humanity, having rejected disagreements, defended its right to life. Today is the day when we all declared in one voice - we survived, and we won. From this day the 4th of May is declared the International Victory Day ...

Captain Harper was distracted from the TV, on which the president had been singing the praises of fearless humanity and the army of the Alliance for an hour. Basically, Jack understood that it was too early to celebrate the victory. Yes, the main groups of demons have already been dispersed, but the clearing of remote corners of the planet will take more than one year. A year ... this meat grinder, which is now dubbed the Great Cataclysm, or the Doomsday War, lasted for almost a year, clearly forgetting that such a war had already taken place in history. However, what happened in this year of war was much more like Armageddon than the eighteen-day Arab-Israeli conflict. Billion people... In fact, the aliens killed every twelfth inhabitant of the Earth, except for the arriving forces from the colonies. Most of the losses occurred in the first month of the war, when people, not quite understanding what they were facing, were thrown into battle units with minimal experience of war in the style - a squad against the crowd. And the crowd aggressive and spitting on the losses. During this month, Harper's company was assigned three times to re-form. And it was still a good indicator - some units only were re-created five or six times in a month. Then, however, it became easier - people adapted to the new enemy, creating assault groups that single-handedly cleaned multi-storey houses. Tanks, despite the extreme vulnerability to the internal enemy, also showed themselves well in urban battles - they lured out strong opponents, using ambush tactics. But fighting on the plains became a real vocation for armored forces — demons huddled together in a horde were a tasty morsel for artillery shots in the style of the Second World War and subsequent attacks on finishing moves. It was at this time that Harper was given command of the company. His unit was thrown from the front to the front, where his people, gaining invaluable experience, gradually turned into real thugs who were not afraid of anything and were absolutely faithful to their commander. Those who survived, of course. And in the end, when the war moved to hard-to-reach places on Earth, problems began again. It turned out that driving away demons from plains and cities is one thing, but smoking them out of the mountains and the jungle is quite another, and aliens managed to adapt to the tactics of people, having ceased to stumble into large units. The losses again increased several times, but people managed to feel the taste of victory, and, although with losses, they oppressed the enemy. Harper's company, while just drove through retraining, and, giving the status of landing, again thrown into battle. Although, to be fair, the status of the airborne company meant for them only better equipment, weapons and means of support - of these space marines from them it was planned to do after the war. But what was given was a great help, especially in the conditions of the jungle, where the usual infantry died like cockroaches from insecticides. In such a composition, the fighters of Harper passed the fire of the Himalayas and the jungles of South America, to which the captain now only harbored a feeling of cruel, unclouded hatred. And finally, after two more months of war, the company personnel were announced that the war was close to completion, and the company could leave for a month's vacation. To say that this news was received with enthusiasm means to say nothing. Some fighters did not come out of the fights for a year, having driven around the world like real tourists. Among them was Jack himself, Richard Miles, who received the first lieutenant and the post of platoon commander, sergeant Ben Hislop, a former policeman who joined the company after a memorable battle at the television center, and, oddly enough, Eva Korr, a talented engineer, a good pilot and just beauty. However, Eva's talents were a good help for the fighters, and her ability to pilot almost any atmospheric equipment even saved lives a couple of times.

After the company was sent on vacation, Jack decided to visit his home. He heard the official address of the president when the Atlantic Express train approached the station in New York. The Atlantic Express ... cyclopean project of the tunnel laid along the ocean floor began in the middle of the twenty-first century, and was completed only in 2130, connecting Europe and North America with a high-speed highway. Twelve lines of maglevs_ (approx. auto trains on a magnetic cushion, short for MAGNETIC LEVITATION)_, connecting the continents, carried people and goods through tunnels with highly rarefied air at speeds of up to two and a half thousand kilometers per hour. This allowed in a record two hours to be practically on the other side of the planet. And in the war along this tunnel flew trains with soldiers and equipment, which played an important role in protecting the Earth.

The train began to slow down in the meantime, until it stopped at all. Unlike other passengers, Harper did not immediately collect luggage and rush to the exits - the war taught him to be patient. Leading the last through the gateway, Harper just half an hour later found himself on the outskirts of New York, where the Transatlantic Station was located. A half-hour metro ride - and the captain went out into the business center of the city. New York has not changed since his last visit. This city did not affect the war, unlike neighboring Washington, which was demolished almost completely by demons. Either due to timely reinforcements from Europe, or thanks to competent commanders, the demons were stopped in the suburbs of the metropolis, and not a single creature leg set foot on this land. Now it was here that the US president was located with the administration. But Harper did not care about the residence of the first person of his native country. His path lay in one particular skyscraper. A strict, monolithic building of glass and concrete once belonged to UAC, but after the company went bankrupt, the building changed its owner, but the design, as if recalling the corporation's former absolute power, still suppressed passersby with its appearance, as if trying to discourage the very idea that such a financial giant can be fought. However, the current owner of the building definitely liked this design. Especially considering who he was during the UAC domination.

\- Can I help you, captain? - - pretty girl at the entrance, smiling "at thirty-two," greeted the incoming Jack. Harper smiled in his mind - before the war, the attitude toward the military was much more indulgent. Now they almost prayed to uniformed people, even if in fact the clerks sat in the headquarters during the whole war.

\- Good afternoon, - Jack returned the smile, - be so kind as to inform the general director that Jack Harper wants to see him.

The girl's smile faded instantly. Considering the fact who this young man in captain's uniform came to, the latest fool would have realized that the officer is obviously a bird of high flight. And the girl was not a fool, so she immediately realized that in this case there was nothing to catch.

\- OK, wait a minute, - the girl pressed the link selector, and, having contacted the reception, transferred Jack's request. After hearing the answer, the girl looked up again, - sir, you will be ready to meet in half an hour. Would you like to wait here or go to the waiting room?

\- Thank you, Liza, - Harper replied, reading the name on the badge, - I'll go upstairs. Have a nice day.

Not listening to the girl's response, Jack headed for the elevator. Having missed the exit crowd, Harper entered the elevator and pressed the button of the last floor. The doors slammed shut, and the elevator, slightly pushing the captain to the floor, drove to the top of the building.

Reception met Harper emptiness. This deafening after a crowded metropolis silence was so unusual that the captain tensed for a second, waiting for an attack. The instincts developed during the year of war yelled to him that if there is no sound in nature, then this is not normal. And the abnormal silence in this war was equated with demons. Despite their bloodthirstiness, in the jungle these creatures quickly turned into masters of ambushes, to the envy of all the "guerrillas" who lived in these places before the aliens. The only thing that betrayed them was the lack of sounds of wildlife. If the demons were close, not a single bird or beast gave a vote, as if fearing to be a dinner for aliens. Unfortunately, people did not immediately discover this feature.

Soon one of the doors opened, and people began to leave it, dressed in solid and expensive suits. Passing by Harper, these men only for a moment held their gaze on the captain, as if he was for them only a part of the landscape, what attracted their attention for some reason. However, Jack did not care about them. The war has changed him too much in order to take such views with hostility.

\- Sir, - a middle-aged woman left the office, - Mr. Director awaits you.

Hearing the voice of the secretary, the last of the businessmen, already entering the elevator, already stumbled by surprise. Apparently, he thought that a young man in a captain's suit accidentally made a mistake on the floor. Then the businessman looked more closely at the officer, and recognition flashed through his eyes. However, Harper did not pay the slightest attention to this when entering the office.

A middle-aged man was standing by the window. Hair combed back gave a noble gray hair, and a simple but expensive suit complemented the image of the owner of the office. Turning around at the creak of the door, the man, seeing Jack in the uniform in the uniform of the Orbital Droptrooper Corps, seemed to feel his tenacious gaze from head to toe, and only waiting for the door to close behind the captain allowed himself a sincere smile.

\- I'm back, - for some reason, looking at this man, whom he had not seen for many years, Jack was attacked by a binge attack, - father.


End file.
